Naruto 1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Anime/Manga Naruto. I do how ever own the idea for this FanFiction.**

**Please Read and Review! The fate of this FanFict lies in YOUR hands! Seriously. If I don't get alot of good reviews on people wanting to me keep it well... yeah, you can say bye-bye to this FanFict being a long story. I'm mean, I know. Sorry.  
**

**From, Somnia.**

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**Uchiha Itachi was many things**.

" N-no! Please! I-I-I'll do anything, I promise! J-just let her go! " A man in his late 30's said as sobs choked his throat, making his words come out stuttered.

" Ah-ah-ah. " A long tall dark blue-ish figure 'tsked' while flexing his right index finger left to right, left to right in front of the man's face. " Stop your whining. It's getting you no where. " He grinned, his sharp white teeth semi-glowing in the darkness. Long dark amber hair was held in his grasp. The hair belonging to a woman in her early 30's, whimpering from the blue-ish figure pulling her hair. The figure lifted his hand a little higher making the pudgy woman's head jerk up and cry out pain.

" P-please! She h-has nothing to do w-with i-it! With this! " The man shook his head, making his greasy hair damped from sweat flowing around his forehead in the small breeze he created. " Its my fault! D-don't make her suffer for my mistakes! Punish me! I'm the one who should suffer, not her! "

" Yes, it is your fault. " Sharp teeth glowed brighter from the sadistic grin becoming wider. " And since it is, what better way to make you suffer by seeing your _lovely_ wife here killed right before your very eyes? "

**He was handsome, a genius, a thinker, envied by many, he was perfect. He was also a killer, a murderer, feared by most and an S-class missing/wanted-nin in the Bingo books, and in the Five Great Nations**_._

" NO! PLEASE! " The man was now on his knee's in a bow. Tears continuously fell to floor from his eyes. " Take my life instead! She doesn't deserve this! " His forehead now on the hard wooden floor. " Please-- "

" P-p-please. " The women choked out. " T-take m-my life i-i-if it me-means he'll l-live. " She sobbed out as she closed her eyes, hoping it would stop her tears, and also hoping to stop the world of her vision coming to a pitiful end.

Her husbands head shot up. " Don't even say that! You shouldn't suffer for my-- "

**But despite being called a demon, a monster, a cruel heartless being, and even the devil himself, Uchiha Itachi was human**_._

Suddenly a whooshing noise was heard from the air being cut at a fast speed. The next thing that was heard was a loud thud, then the object that made the thudding noise was rolling on the ground.

The man's green eyes widened when the head of his beloved wife came rolling right in front of his line of vision. Her head stopped rolling right infront of his lowered face, her eyes opened up from the inpact, staring blankly straight at her husbands horrid face, her mouth slightly gaped. His breathing came out as pants from shock before he screamed at the top of his lungs. The body of his wife fell on her stomach in front of her killer.

" Sorry, but it was a request from the little Missy. And I always take requests from the ladies. No matter how fat and ugly they are. " Kisame let the few strands of amber hair fall from his fingers. Sighing, Kisame jerked his karambit knife in front of him, making the blood on the knife splatter on to the man's face. " I was hoping to use the Samehade, but that wouldn't of been to much fun. Besides, " opening his coat slightly, Kisame put the knife in its rightful pouch. " I didn't want to let Samehade feel the shame of taking down such a worthless excuse of a human being. " He snorted.

**And because Uchiha Itachi was a human, he had to see the flaws in every thing in order so he himself wouldn't be flawed**.

" Now then. " Kisame stepped on the dead woman's back to reach the pitiful excuse of a man in front of him. From the impact and weight of Kisame's foot on the woman's back, blood shot out of the hole that use to be her neck. " Since we got that out of the way, lets get down to business, shall we? " Kisame kicked the head to his left before crouching in front of the man.

" M-m-monster! " the man yelled out through his tears, his eyes closed tight so he could no longer see his dead wifes head.

" Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're not the first one to call me that. " Kisame grunted out. " But aren't you the monster here? "

Itachi finally got up from his semi-comfortable chair and walked next to Kisame, looking down at the man. " Its _your_ fault that you _tried_ to deceive _us_by leaking information to Konoha. If you have never tried to do that in the first place, your wife would still be alive, and we wouldn't be here. " He stated in a mono-tone voice.

**Being the genius Uchiha Itachi is, he over thought every thing. He never once over thought a single thing, because in his point of view, every thing was flawed in its own way.**

" And as you can plainly see, me and my partner don't like to be deceived, nor does our organization. " Kisame's sadistic grin came back. " But since you're the only one who can get special information for us, we've decided to spare your life. "

" Understand that this is a once in a life time thing. If we even think for a second that some one is trying to betray or deceive us, we'll kill them in an instant. " Itachi blinked once. " Let your wifes death be a warning. The next warning won't be so peaceful. "

" 'Peaceful'? PEACEFUL?! " The unknown man barked out, mad with laughter. " How in the hell could you stand there and call her death 'peaceful'?! " His laughter become louder.

At this Kisame joined in with his laughter, making the man stop his laughter in a split second. " You're such a fool. If I wanted her to have a painful death, I could of killed her with my Samehade. " His laughter died down to a sadistic chuckle. " If I used Samehade, she would of had a very slow... and painful death. A death so pain, her voice box would of busted from screaming so much, but her silence wouldn't mean she was no longer in any way, or that much closer to death for that matter. "

**So since Uchiha Itachi thought every thing was flawed in its own way, he never liked anything. He never held any thing with respect, or thought things with value. And he really didn't like sayings.**

" But since my partner here doesn't like senseless killings and deaths, I decided to do the nice thing and let her have a painless death. " Kisames' sharp teeth shoned brightly in the small amount of light the moon gave through a window.

" If he doesn't like senseless killings, then why kill her? Her death was sense-- "

In an instant, Itachi had the man pinned against a wall with his hand gripping his neck tightly. " Apparently you weren't listenng to me. Her death was a warning, so it wasn't senseless. " Itachi added more force to his grip.

The man continued to claw at Itachis' hand, trying his best to make him loosen his grip on his neck. Slowly, the man stopped his struggle and started chuckling... or chuckle as best as he could. " Go ahead and kill me. " He spat out. " Might as well. If you don't, I will just end up telling every thing I know about you Akatsuki to Konoha. "

**Because Uchiha Itachi was always able to find something wrong with them. Such as 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me', Uchiha Itachi was able to prove that saying wrong with a single word. The same with 'Early to bed, early to rise, because the early bird catches the worm', he thought it would be better to get the 'worm' way before any one decided to 'get it'.**

Itachi did nothing but stare at the man, while Kisame laughed loudly then smirked. " Boy, you really are a dumb ass who doesn't listen, huh? " Kisame got up from his crouching position and dusted the front of his coat off. " If you were listening to me, you would of heard me say we were letting you live because only you can get us some special information. And if you were listening to my partner, then you would of heard him say the next warning won't be so peaceful. "

The man coughed up blood while still laughing. " The only thing you could do to me now is by taking my life. "

" Please don't take us as fools. " Itachi said calmly. " Taking your death would have no meaning other then the fact that we would be doing the world a favor by getting rid of a piece of trash. " His grip tightened while his eyes narrowed. " And next time, listen to our words. Your death wouldn't be considered a warning. "

" Dumb ass. " Kisame chuckled in the back ground.

" Then what else can you do? Burn down my house? My shop? Break every bone in my body? GO AHEAD! I DON'T CARE ANY MORE! " He shouted, causing blood to shoot from his mouth onto Itachi's face.

Kisame chuckled again in the back ground. " Ahhh-ha-ha-ha... dumb ass. " He backed few feet away from them.

**And even though Uchiha Itachi was one that didn't have 'emotions', he him self hated one particular saying with a passion more then the other idiotic sayings he's ever heard**...

" As I've said before, Uron... don't take us as fools. We know of your children. " Itachi stated as he wiped away Uron's blood from his cheek with his free hand.

Uron's eyes widened at those last five simple words Itachi said.

" We know that you have been 'unfaithful' to your wife. Oh my apologizes, I mean you _were_unfaithful to your wife. " Itachi stated once again in a bored-tone.

" H...how did y-you know a-about t-them? " Uron asked dumb-founded.

" As cliche' as this sounds, we have our ways. " Kisame said in the back ground with a grin and shake of the head.

" I was never unfaithful to my wife! I love her with every fiber of my being! But she was unable to have kids and I really needed to-- "

Itachi pressed Uron against the wall harder, his hand tightening. " You don't have to try and preach your pathetic excuses to us so you can seem like a good guy. We don't care what or who you did. "

Uron gritted his teeth.

" But back to my current sentence, we know where your children are, and we can get to them in less then 2 minutes. That means they'll be 2 minutes away from their death. " His sentence came swiftly, as if he was talking about doing such a normal thing like saying how long it'll take to make tea. Not threatening to kill innocent children.

" NO! You already took my wife away from me, don't take my children too! Please! I'll do anything you want, just leave them out of this! " Uron choked out as more blood shot out of his mouth.

**Because the saying it self proved it had many flaws**...**Uchiha Itachi dealt with its flaws first hand**_...  
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Kisame walked back towards Itachi and Uron with a smug grin on his features. " Do you promise to be a good little boy and do every thing and any thing the Akatsuki ask you to do? And not be an idiot and try to tell Konoha of our plans? " Kisame asked for Itachi since he knew Itachi doesn't like to talk all that much. He knows he only likes to talk to make a point, or if he really needs to.

" Yes, yes! I promise! Just don't hurt them! " And with that, Itachi dropped Uron by releasing his hold on his throat. Uron fell down to the ground with a hard 'thud'. Once he hit the hard ground, Uron immediately wrapped his hand around his neck, in an attempt to stop some of the throbbing pain he felt from where Itachi was gripping it tightly, and to also to stop from sobbing once his wife's head came back into view.

Kisame crouched in front on the semi-sobbing man, his grin still ever present. " Good boy. Oh, and don't try to pull anything stupid. We have some one watching over them as we speak. So if you try to move them out of the village so they can be in a... 'safer place', don't. You'll only make things worse for you and your brats. And if you don't trust our threat, if you think we're bluffing, then go ahead and try to flee with them. We'll just slowly kill them off... one by one, " his words came a little above a mocking whisper. " until you know for sure that we're not joking around here. "

" I said I'd do anything! " The man spat out. " Just don't threaten them again. " He said through gritted teeth. " I already lost the love of my life, I cannot bare to lose my children too. "

" Then don't give us a reason to 'threaten' them again. " Itachi said in a mono-tone. " Its as simple as that. "

" And you know what they say always, buddy-boy. " Kisame grunted as he got up from his crouching position. " ' _**It's better to have loved and lost, then to have never loved at all**_. ' "

Itachi's left eye twitch slightly, though it looked as if his eye never moved at all. " Lets go, Kisame. " Itachi turned on his heels swiftly with grace, his cloak making an almost whipping noise by the sudden movement as he started to walk towards the half broken door, with Kisame following him behind him shortly. With a quick pause, Itachi turned his head to the right slightly so Uron can hear him. " Have the information we need by night fall in 3 days-- "

Urons' eyes widened. " 3 Days?! Are you kidding me?! That's impossible! No one would be able to even get_ there_ from here in 3 days, let alone-- "

" Just for interrupting me, and being pathetic, I want you to have the information ready in **2** days. And for each day that passes, we will start to kill your children off. Starting with the youngest. _Understand_? " Itachi said in his normal bored tone of voice, yet Uron heard the deadly threat in his voice. " Oh, and don't try to go to Konoha for help again like you did last time. If you even set a single step in the direction of where Konoha is, or look in its direction, the person we have tracking you will inform the little spy that's watching your children through nanocommunication, and the little spy will have to kill your children for you being a fool. " With his last threat said, Itachi continued walked out of the blooded house.

" F-Fine... 2-2 days it i-is. " Uron said through tightly clenched teeth.

" If you said 3 days is impossible for you to get the information, then you better start now if you plan on finishing in 2 days. " Kisame's bright teeth shining from the moons reflection. " And don't worry, " Kisame waved his hand sheepishly as he started to follow Itachi. " I have faith in you. " Pure sarcasm was dripping off every word, making Kisame bark out in laughter.

After a few moments passed as the 2 missing-nin started leaving the small darkened village in silence, Kisame thought of a question.

" Hey so do you think he's actually going to stick to his word this time? He did make a promise like that last time. "

" Wither he does or not, doesn't concern me. If he wants to be foolish and risk his children's life, then so be it. We'll get our information another way. "

" Yeah, yeah. " Kisame rotated his left shoulder blade, earning a few pops and cracks. " But why did we have to go through all of that trouble anyways? I mean, we already killed the brats, so why did we have to tell him they were alive, and in order to stay alive he needed to get the information A.S.A.P? And also that he was the only one to get the information? "

" What better way to get revenge for betraying us, by making the one who betrayed you do every thing in their power to save what's precious to them? Once he's done getting the information, and its in our hands, we'll kill him. That way, we'll have the information, and he'll have paid dearly for his betrayal towards our organization. " Itachi picked up his pace as they started to enter a thick forest. " And for your other question, it was best to let him think that he's the only one who can help us with our little 'problem'. Think of it as a... test, to see if he'll try to use that against us or not. "

" Sheesh, and here I thought you didn't like pointless killing. " Kisame said with a sigh as he too, picked up his pace.

" I don't like pointless killings. How ever, to make a point isn't pointless. " Itachi stated in a mono-tone. " Besides, what are you complaining about? I thought you liked 'fresh meat' ((A/N: I know that sounded bad, but I meant it in a killing way, not in a... pedophile way. xD )). "

" I do. But I was just wondering what the point was. " He sighed again. " Anyways, what if he goes to check on his brats and finds them dead? "

" Once again, wither he does or not, doesn't concern me. If he does, then the spy we have watching over the house will kill him in an instant, and we'll still get our information from our other source. If he stays away from the house, then we'll still get our information from him, but it'll be that much sweeter to get. " Itachi jumped up onto a tree branch in a crouching position with little effort.

Kisame then jumped on the same branch shortly after Itachi landed on it.

" And why the hell are you asking so many questions? Didn't Deidara fill you in on our mission briefing? "

" Yeah well... I tuned him out. You know how his voice gets. And I really can't stand all of his 'Yeah's and 'Un's at the end of each of his sentences. So basically I was just going along with what ever you said and did. "

Itachi scoffed silently. " Smart... " He then stood up straight as he closed his eyes to give his blurred vision and aching eyes a short rest in the sweet/relieving darkness behind his eye lids.

" You know, " Kisames' voice interrupted Itachi's little rest. " I always wanted to say that. "

Though he knew Kisame knew he didn't care, he went ahead and asked anyway. " Say what? " Itachis' voice held boredom mixed with annoyance. His eyes opening once again.

" _**'Its better to have loved and lost, then to have never loved at all**_.' As stupid as it sounds, I always wanted to say that to a broken man. " Kisames' grin returned.

Itachi's eye twitched again, and once again, Kisame wasn't able to tell. " Hn. Lets go. " With that, Itachi sped off at a little bit slower then his highest speed with Kisame following behind him.

**Yes... The saying is 'stupid'. Is it really better to have loved and lost, then to have never loved before? The answer: No, it isn't. Because in reality, if you lose the one you love, you'll fall into a state of sadness. Then the sadness will turn to depression, and depression will turn into bitterness, and bitterness will turn into anger, and anger will turn into hatred. You'll end up hating the person you once loved. Hate them for leaving you. Hate them for leaving you alone in the world. Hate them for breaking you. Hate them for making you weak. Hate them for putting you into sadness, depression, bitterness, anger, and hate. Hate them... for making you hate them, when you loved them so much, once upon a time ago. So... is it really better to have loved and lost, then to have never loved before? The answer**_:_

" ...No... "

" Did you just say something? " Kisame's loud voice was heard behind Itachi.

Itachi sighed in annoyance with a slight shake of his head.

**The reason, or better yet, the Person why Uchiha Itachi actually dealt with the sayings flaws, dealt with the flaws way worse then any other man before, was because of none other then, _Hyuuga Hinata_.**

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**AN: Please read if you are a fan of my other 2 FanFicts! I know I haven't posted a chapter for my FanFicts Open Up and Lotus Patch (Which are both HinaxSasu Ficts by the way, for those who haven't read my other FanFicts and are only ItacxHina fans). I still haven't even started on a chapter for either story because I've been so busy playing MapleStory with my brother and his friends, so I feel real bad about that, so that's why I'm posting this. I originally wanted to save this story until I finish Lotus Patch so I wouldn't have to worry about updating it and blah, blah, blah, but I thought I should put something out for all of you guys and stuff. Now... Since this story will be my third one, I'm not sure when I'll be getting around to updating it. How ever! I do have a _little_ bit of the chapter written, so the next chapter for this one _might be_ out sooner then the others. Sorry all of you Open Up/Lotus Patch fans!**

**AN2: I know this chapter doesn't seem interesting at all, but I promise, in the later chapters, it will (Hopefully it will be interesting to you all). If I get alot of good reviews for this story and keep it, well, I have so much good ideas in my head right now! I'm sure the story will keep you all on your toes! So I hope people do want me to keep it.**

**Ok! So anyways, I know there wasn't any Hinata (cough except for her name being mentioned cough) in this chapter, but I promise, she'll be in the next one!**

**Anyways, I came up with this idea for the FanFict from a Samurai X AMV. The line 'Is it really better to have loved and lost, then to have never loved before?' came from the AMV 'Samurai X Trust' (Awesome AMV by the way, if you're a Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X fan, watch it). When I read it, I was like 'Oh snap... that's a good question.' Because Itachi's 'opinion' I had added in the FanFict, was actually my response to the question, and then I thought, 'Hmm... That would be a good plot for a ItacxHina FanFict! So... yeah. xD **

**Anyways, please tell me what you think about it so far. If I get alot of reviews, then I'll most likely make this FanFict a 'Long' story. If not, then I'll most likely just turn this into a 'Long One Shot', which would be about... 2 or 3 chapters long. Maybe more. Depends on how I put every thing together.  
**

**From, Memorias.**


	2. Dreams

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Anime/Manga 'Naruto'. I do how ever own the idea for this plot. So no stealy. Thanks. **

**M'kay! Well, I wanted to have this out sooner then... now... but because of some unexpected things, I've been real busy, so sorry about that. But please review! Once again, the fate of this FanFict lies in YOUR hands!**

**Review Replies:**

**kawaiiitahina123: Thank you very much. **

**Murasaki Shikibu: I'm so sorry! xD I didn't mean to steal your book away from you. Here's another chapter for you.**

**DarkUchihaHinata: Thanks for the love.**

**Kags21: Thank you.**

**Anyways! On to the Fict!**

**From, Somnia.**

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Tsunade sighed as she stared out of the giant window that was located behind her desk that was piled with different mission reports, bills, Peace Treaty's with a few small villages, Team Status, and scrolls that either needed her attention and/or her signature. Though she didn't feel like dealing with them all right now. And surprisingly it wasn't because she was being lazy and just didn't want to to them. No, it was because her spy that she had in LimeStone Village stopped sending her information about the Akatsuki 4 days ago. Tsunade sighed again. " It's past dawn. Uron would normally send the carrier bird by now. 4 day's have already passed and still nothing. Dammit. " She mumbled under her breath.

Hearing every word Tsunade said, Shizune bent down and gently put TonTon on the tile floor. She stood straight again with gingerly crossed arms. " Could it be that Akatsuki found out about him giving us information? "

Tsunade grunted. " Most likely. There can't be any other reason for him to stop giving us information. Our deal was to move his family in Konoha, give them shelter, and a life in the Shinobi way, and all he had to do was tell us what little information he had on the Akatsuki. " Tsunade paused as she glanced down at the main dirt road in Konoha. Countless men, women, and children walked around doing random normal living activities in her eyes. " The only information we got so far about the Akatsuki was that they are looking for a certain type of jutsu. One that can reverse another special kind of jutsu. But since Uron is a normal man, with a normal life, he's not familiar with jutsu's, so he really couldn't say what kind of jutsu they were after, and or what kind of jutsu they are wanting to break. "

" Do you think they are looking for the jutsu, because one of their own got hit with another jutsu? One that seals up their chakra or blood-limit? " Shizune started racking her brain for possibilities. " Perhaps it was a poison jutsu? They are all wanted in all Five Great Nations. And no telling how many little villages, too. "

" Perhaps... I really wish we could of found out more about what kind of jutsu they are looking for, that way we can find out about it, and prepare for it right now, rather then wait until they get ahold of the jutsu, and us not have a defense for whatever the hell it is. " Tsunade frowned at that. She knew Akatsuki was up to something, but _what_? That scared her the most. The Akatsuki were capable of every thing and any thing. How the hell were you able to counter that? 'A good defense is the best offense', or something to that matter, Tsunade didn't really care, but that her 'saying' was right. She needed a damn good defense to counter their offense, and she almost had it with in her grasp. What ever 'it' was. But it seems the Akatsuki was one step ahead of them... as always. " Dammit. " She mumbled under her breath.

Tsunade raised her hand that was cupping her chin up to her lips and bit the tip of her thumb nail in thought.

" Maybe he just hasn't been able to get any information from them just yet. Would you like for me to send a team over there to see if something really did happen to Uron-san? "

" ...Would that really be for the best? What if they know we haven't gotten a reply message from Uron yet, and they think that we're going to send some one over there to check up on him. They might set up a trap. "

" That is true... but... " Shizune shook her head gently. " You did promise Uron-san, that no matter what, you would help his children live in Konoha. Don't we need to get them out before the Akatsuki get's their hands on them? "

" You're right, we need to. But they might be dead already. " She said out loud with no emotion in her voice, an a frown upon her face.

Shizune gasped silently. " What do you mean? "

" Even though Uron kept it a secret that he had children with another woman even though he had a wife, the member's of Akatsuki could easily find it out with a little bit of spying. They might of used his children against him to stop messaging us. That or, they forced Uron to send us false messages about them, then to stop out of no where, just to lure us over there. "

" That... could be a possibility. But given every thing that Uron-san has told us, I'm sure he was trying to help us to help him get his children out of LimeStone Village so his wife wouldn't ever find out about them. "

" You do have a point there, Shizune. But if we're going to send some one, it can't be more then three people. Two is to little in case there is a surprise attack. And we can't make it look suspicious, so they need a reason for being there. "

Shizune walked closer to Tsunades' desk and started looking through different stacks of paper to find the file that held some mission details. " We have a request from a shop owner, Seki-san, to visit Candoglia Village actually. Candoglia Village is known for having Calcite Crystals, A material that glows in the dark after being exposed to light containing molecules that absorb energy for long periods of time, then later release that energy as light. So Seki-san needs some for a few of her special weapons, and paints. "

" And if I'm correct... LimeStone Village is on the way to Candoglia Village. " Tsunade turned around, and also started shuffling through the stacks of paper's for her Team Status Folder to find out which teams are currently on missions, and which aren't. Tsunade finally spotted the file under a stack of bills that was hidden under her desk. She stood up straight while her eyes scanned over the file's words. ' _Hmm... Good. All of the Rookie 9 and Team Gai's students are available_. ' Tsunade turned her vision upon the bent over Shizune who was still looking through stacks of papers and files. " Shizune, " Her sturn voice called out, making Shizune stand up straight.

" Yes, Tsunade-sama? "

" Get me Team 10. "

" Uhh... are you serious? " Shizune asked in disbelief.

Tsunade gave Shizune a questioning gaze. " Yes? "

" Tsunade-sama, you sent Team 10 on a 'Special Mission', and it seems as if you haven't wrote it down in the books that they are gone. " Shizune said with disappointment laced in her words and facial expression.

Tsunade looked dumbfound for a few moments before she remembered that indeed she sent Team 10 on a special mission to pick up a crate of imported sake from the Rice Village. " Oh... I remember now. "

" What if something were to happen, and we needed Team 10 ASAP? It's a good thing I was here when you called them in. "

" Right, I'll get on that in a bit. " Tsunade dismissed it with a wave of her hand. " Then get me Team 7. "

" Sakura-chan is working double shift at the hospital. She can't leave until later in the morning tomorrow. After that, you told her you'd teach her your summon for Katsuyu. And you know how long it took you to learn the summon, and how much chakra it took up. Sakura-chan will need to rest fully before she can learn it. "

Tsunade sighed as she rubbed the frown between her brows. " Alright, how about Team 8? "

" Kiba and Shino are helping out with the Academy today. And Neji and TenTen are helping with the up coming chunin exam. While Lee and Gai-san are going out on a scouting mission. " Shizune replied before Tsunade could ask about Team Gai.

Tsunade slowly rubbed the back of her neck. ' _Man, I really need to start writing some of this stuff down_. ' She then turned around towards the window again. " So the only one's left are Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata? "

Shizune nodded. " Yes. "

' _That'll look suspicious, sending some of our most talented shinobi. _' Tsunade raised her right hand towards her chin and bit the tip of her thumb nail once again. ' _But what can I do_? _Every one is gone on a mission, or is about to be_. _Though I have to be careful with this mission... If the Akatsuki really did do something with Uron and his kids and set up a trap, Sasuke might go looking for his dearest big brother..._' With another sigh, Tsunade turned around again. " Fine. Get me those 3 and Kakashi. " She said in defeat.

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Hyuuga Hinata swam across the cold river with long, powerful strokes, the slight sting of water on her face refreshingly bracing. As she glided towards the shallow water, Hinata let her self slow down. She flipped over on her back, taking deep breaths. The shimmery water rocked her gently. Overhead, silvery light filtered through thin covered clouds. A crow rode the wind, giving out a nasal cry.

Hinata had the option to swim in the Hyuuga's private river, but the sky was blocked out by the tree's scattered all around the Hyuuga's private river. And Hinata loved floating on her back while staring at the light blue sky and clouds. She supposed she got her love for cloud watching from going with Shikamaru on many missions. But she was very thankful for that, because she really loved it when she was able to see the 'Silver Lining' from the sun shining down on a cloud just right.

Hinata stood up and walked to shore. She grabbed the towel she'd left on top an old stump and wrapped it around her body, the towel now covering up her one piece black bathing suit that had a mesh shirt over it.

" One way to wake up into your youthfulness! " A familiar voice called out to her.

She looked over at the dirt road that ran along the river and saw Gai Maito waving his hand lightly at her. Hinata then seen Lee, Gai's student, run up to Gai's side. Slightly panting from his and his sensei's morning training session, Lee started waving frantically then started talking. " Are you enjoying this fine day in all of your youthfulness, Hinata-chan? " To much excitement was dripping off his words.

" Yep. Just got to keep moving! " Hinata called back as she smiled. Being around those two made Hinata learn that she must give into her 'youthfulness', and say something 'youthful' about her 'youthfulness', or else Gai and Lee wouldn't stop talking about how she should really enjoy her 'youthfulness'.

" Right! " Gai and Lee said at the same time as they made the 'Good-guy' pose together. " We should follow your advice, and keep moving! " Gai turned to Lee. " Lee! "

" Yes, Gai-sensei?! "

" Let's get going! We still have 30 laps we must do around town before breakfast, then we set off on our mission! "

" Right, Gai-sensei! " Lee jumped with joy.

With that, Gai and Lee said their good-byes as they waved at Hinata, then took off running down the dirt road. Hinata waved with a slight giggle before they dashed off... _with all their youthfulness_, Hinata thought as another giggle escaped her lips.

Glancing at the water, Hinata saw a few fish swim by heading towards the horizon. Hinata unwrapped the towel around her slender body then lightly ran the towel over her hair that was in a low pony tail. Once Hinata felt her hair was dry enough, she put the towel in a free compartment in her back pack then put on her long baggy jacket, and a pair of navy blue caprie pants. Bending down, Hinata slipped on her sandals. She then picked up her back-pack, throwing it over her left shoulder, and held the strap tightly in her left hand. " Well... Its time to get the day started... " Hinata mumbled to herself as she started to make her way towards her home.

'Home'. The word made Hinata want to laugh bitterly out loud when ever she referred to the place she lived at as 'home'. Home was a place of comfort. Home was a place of love. Home was a place for people to encourage you. Home was a place for family.

Her so called 'home' wasn't any of those things. Her home was a place of discomfort. A place where -most- people secretly hated each other. A place where people always put you down just because you aren't as strong as them. And a place where people who were just blood related lived because it was a 'duty' to the clan.

But since Hinata wasn't her father, Hinata never laughed bitterly. She only smiled sadly as the sad fact.

Hinata sighed. Shaking her head, she released her hold on her back-pack strap then gently slapped her cheeks. ' _Don't need to think about depressing thoughts right now_. ' Hinata grabbed for her back-pack strap once more then continued on her way 'home'.

Though things were getting better... Well... a little bit better. Hinata had to admit that. Neji didn't want to kill her any more, and his hate for her went way down, so that was a automatic plus. Though he still looked at her from time to time as if she was a child who was just walking into a major war for the first time. She was getting along with her sister better. Plus a few days ago, her father said that she wasn't a _complete _failure, so yeah. Thing were getting better. At least, as better as it could in the Hyuuga house hold.

Another sigh escaped Hinata's lips.

Hinata glanced up at the slowly rising sun for a few seconds before she turned her gaze back to the dirt road. Staring at the dirt road, Hinata started to remember part of a vivid and blury dream she had last night. This road... was in her dream.

**-Dream-**

_"Hey! Wait for me! "_

_A chuckle was heard from the person a few feet ahead from the one who called out. " You're such a slow poke, Hitomi. "_

_Hitomi finally slowed down her running pace to a light walk once she was next to the person. With a light huff, she started talking. " Yeah well it's not my fault that you went ahead with out me. I told you to wait. You knew I wasn't going to be long in the meeting with the Elder's. "_

_" I knew you were busy, so I wanted to go ahead and get this over with so you wouldn't have to deal with it. " The boy shrugged._

_Hitomi frowned as she lightly tugged on the boys golden hair that was tied in a semi-high pony tail. The boy grunted then turned around and swatted her hand away. " Don't give me that excuse! You already used it 5 times! " Hitomi grabbed his pony tail again._

_" Oh, did I? " The boy asked casually as if some one just told him he just took a step. He picked up his pace, making his golden pony tail slip freely from Hitomi's grasp._

_Hitomi picked up her pace as well, to once again be side by side with the boy. " Yes, you did. " She nudged him with her shoulder. " I really wish you would stop. I hardly get to hang out with you any more, and I'd rather do this boring mission with you then not... " Hitomi slowly trailed off with a slight pink tint on her cheeks as she looked to her right so the boy wouldn't be in her line of vision any more._

_A pink tint also found its way on the boys cheeks, as he too looked to his left side. " Well... I uh... " The boy raised his right hand in a fist to cover up a fake cough. " I'm sorry. Its just we've been real busy with the clan and all... "_

_Hitomi sighed as she turned her vision back to the road. " I know, I know. I miss hanging out with him too. " She said with another sigh._

_The boy's head snapped towards Hitomi. " Yeah but, you miss hanging out with me more, right? " Jealousy heard clearly in his words._

_Hitomi put her hands behind her back and intertwined her fingers with a yawn and a shrug. " Maybe, maybe not. I'm not sure. " Hitomi picked up her pace, making her long jet blue hair flow gently behind her back, and leaving the boy looking dumb found at Hitomi's back with his mouth gaped open._

_" Hahaha! That was a good joking. " He chuckled weakly when Hitomi didn't give him a reply. " T-Tomi-chan... Y-you're joking... right? Right? Hitomiiiiiiiiiiii! " The boy whined out as he jogged over towards Hitomi. _

_A small smile made its way on Hitomi's face. She turned around, continuing to walk backwards and grinned at the boy. " Who knows? I mean, have you watch him train? Especially with his shirt off... " Hitomi slowly trailed off as she gazed at the blue sky in 'deep thought' with her bottom lip caught between her teeth._

_" That's not even funny, Hitomi. " The boy slightly pouted with a frown._

_Hitomi turned her vision back towards the boy as her grin widened. " Yes it is. " Hitomi giggled when the boy made a 'Psh' sound and tsked a 'whatever' as he looked away stubbornly with his arms crossed over his chest. She giggled again with a wink and turned back around, only to bump into some one's chest. Hitomi mumbed a 'ow' and a 'sorry' as she looked up at the person that she bumped into, only to be staring into deep onyx eyes, and jet black hair. " Oh, there you are. " She smiled brightly at the person. " Are you ready to go, -- "_

**-End of Dream-**

That's always how her dreams where. At least, that's how _those _kinds of dreams where. Hinata had those dreams, for as long as she could remember, only dreaming them every once in a while. She could never be able to make out the golden hair boys face, or the other persons face well. Same for their names. They would always say the name 'Hitomi', but she never once, in any of the dreams she had, has 'Hitomi' called them any thing. Or when 'Hitomi''s about to say one of their names, Hinata wakes up.

Of course, all of her dreams like that are different. Some times its of those 3 training, hanging out, or going on missions. At first, Hinata thought that she was the Hitomi in the dream, since she kind of looked like her, had the same color eyes and hair, only that it was a premonition of when she was older, since when she first had the dreams, she was about 7 or so, and in the dreams the girl was around 15 or so. Now as for the name, Hinata just thought it was going to be her 'Code' name while in the 'shinobi world'.

Hinata always thought the golden hair boy in her dream was Naruto. That's why when Hinata first met him, she got a major crush on him, thinking he was from her dream, knowing from the different dreams she's had of 'Hitomi' and the golden hair boy, they had a 'thing' for each other. And the other with onyx eyes and jet black hair was Sasuke. But as the years past, Hinata started acting like the total opposite of what Hitomi was like. Hinata thought for sure it was of some one else, since no one once gave her a code name or nick name 'Hitomi', in any of the under cover missions she's been in.

Same for Naruto and Sasuke. Well, Sasuke kind of acted like 'dream Sasuke', and Naruto kind of acted like 'dream Naruto' as well. Only thing that was different was that Naruto way more random and A.D.D.-ish then 'Dream Naruto'. Plus 'dream Naruto's' hair is way longer then Naruto's hair. Another thing that was different was the voices. They sounded totally different. All but 'dream Hitomi's' voice. It was like Hinata's, but different some how. When Hitomi would talk, you could tell she said what she felt, and that she was out going and strong. Nothing like Hinata's voice at all, which was shy, timid, and quiet.

So if the people in her dream wasn't her, Naruto and Sasuke, then who were they? How did she know them? And why does she have dreams about them? All these questions and more kept circling in her mind, so when she has those dreams, Hinata would tell her father about her dreams with these three people, and her father's ever present frown would deepen and he'd end up telling her ' _You just need to stop putting so much energy into thinking about what the dreams mean, and put all that energy into your_ _training_'. That or she would have to go visit her special doctor Kazuki-san. Then she'd have to take some nasty tasting dark blue stuff to help her 'sleep' better, with out having those kinds of dreams. Of course the 'medican' would only last for a month or so. Then the dreams would start back up once again.

' _Good ol' dad. Always knows what to say_. ' Hinata thought as she giggled to her self.

" Oi, what are you giggling to your self about? Have you finally snapped and now planning world domination? " A voice said, cutting Hinata's thoughts short.

Hinata's head snapped up to try and find the source of where the voice came from. But once she seen nothing in front of her line of vision, she turned around, only to turn into some body's chest. Two quick hands were placed on top of Hinata's shoulders to steady her so she wouldn't fall. Hinata stepped back a few steps and bowed lightly. " I'm so sorry, Sasuke! "

" Hn. I was the one who was right behind you. Besides, I know how clumsy you are. So that was my own fault. " He let his hands dropped back to his sides, only to shove them in his pockets shortly after.

Hinata stood straight and smiled. " You're right. You should of known better. "

The edges of Sasuke's mouth itched to lift up, but his stoic mask stayed in place. " Hn. It seems you're not stuttering around me as much now. " Sasuke turned around and started walking back towards the busy streets of Konoha, leaving a dumb found, pink cheeked Hinata behind him. " The old hag is looking for you. We have a mission. " Sasuke continued on his way knowing Hinata would follow him.

" O-oh! " Hinata nodded her head and lightly jogged to catch up with Sasuke. After a few minutes of not comfortable silence, but not uncomfortable silence, Hinata broke it like she always did. " Sasuke, y-you shouldn't call Tsunade-sama an 'old hag'. " Hinata lightly scolded Sasuke, only using a hushed voice for the last 2 words she said.

And like always, Sasuke would reply in a bored tone of voice. " Why not? "

" Because. " Hinata said with a nod.

" Wow, that's such a good reason. Why didn't I see it like that before? "

Hinata giggled. Every time he would say that, he sounds so bored and fake. Of course Hinata knew he was using sarcasm, but it still made her laugh. " I know right? " Hinata tried her best to grin like Hitomi, but it only came out like smile.

* * *

The light sound of a scroll being wrapped up in its respected place was the only sound heard in the semi-pitched black room. The only light being a single floating flame in front of the now rolled up scroll.

" So these are the only people available? "

" Yes, the rest of the shinobi's are either away on missions, or is volunteering at their Academy or helping with the Chunnin exam. Either way, the old hag never wrote down that they are either busy, or away. "

" And you know this for sure? " Blood red eyes pierced hazy yellowish-brown eyes.

" Please Itachi, " Sasori yawned. " don't peg me for some one like Deidara. If I get asked to do a job, I get it done. I just got word through nanocommunications that the old Hokage just sent out order's to get the team together. " Sasori pulled a dark brown folder from the inside of his cloak and handed it over to the Uchiha. " This is all the information I could get in such short notice of the 'Team' they are sending over here.

" Hn. " Itachi slipped the scroll into one of his cloaks pockets. He then took the dark brown folder from Sasori, then opened it and started looking through the contents.

" But just remember, the full details of their mission isn't in yet. They haven't planned any thing out yet. Once I get the information, I'll send a puppet to find you with all of the mission details. "

Itachi grunted his reply with a short nod.

" Now tell me, why exactly did you ask for a favor from me to kill one of the Hokage's personal assistants, and replace her with a puppet just to steal information about what shinobi are away on missions or if they are just busy with daily activities? " Sasori's eyes stayed locked upon the reading Uchiha.

" That's none of your concern. " Itachi stated matter-of-factly as his eyes continued to scan the reports in the folder.

" Would it have any thing to do with the other favor you asked of Pein and Kisame to help you find a... certain jutsu? " Sasori's eyes slightly narrowed.

Itachi's eyes darted towards Sasori's then narrowed. " I told you... It's none of your concern. "

Sasori and Itachi held a little staring contest for a minute or so before Sasori blinked and sighed. " If you say so. " He re-opened his eyes to find Itachi reading the contents of the folder once again. " But just know, you owe me big for this so called 'favor' of yours. " Sasori knew Itachi wasn't going to reply, which made him blink once more, then disappear once his eyes opened again.

When Sasori left, Itachi lightly tossed the folder down on a table that was a foot away from him. When the folder hit the table, the front side of the folder lifted and fell on its side. The contents of the folder was showed from the light from the floating flame.

The contents were: A 5-by-5 picture of Hinata in her shinobi gear, the picture was attached to a few sheets of papers by a paper clip. The sheets were reports on the young Hyuuga Heiress, her age, date of birth, social, hair and eye color, blood type, location, rank, team members including her sensei, hobbies, likes, dislikes, ect.

On the bottem of Hinata's report, was two 2-by-2 pictures of Naruto and Sasuke, with a little note attached behind each of the pictures giving a small report of the 2 boys.

The report for Naruto had his date of birth, hair and eye color, blood type, location, rank, team members, hobbies, likes and disikes.

The report for Sasuke read his date of birth, hair and eye color, blood type, location, rank, team members, hobbies, dislikes, which was a rather long list, and gave a little report of how Sasuke went off to find the missing S-class Nin Orochimaru, and how his team mate, Naruto, along with Hinata, found and captured the young Uchiha, nearly killing him in the process.

Itachi's eyes lingered upon the picture of the Hyuuga Heiress trying to look as serious as she could. Probably to show that she doesn't look to innocent or weak to be a shinobi. Itachi's eyes continued to stare at Hinata's unmoving light lavender color ones.

In one swift movement, Itachi pulled the picture out from under the paper clip that held the picture in place, then pulled out another folder from his cloak, only this folder was solid black. On the center of the folder, in thin delicate silver lettering, read ' Team Zero '. Opening the folder, Itachi stared at the picture of Hinata for a few more seconds before placing the picture inside the top right corner of the folder, and under the security of another paper clip. Next to the newly added picture, on the top left corner, was a picture of a girl also in her shinobi gear. She looked identical to the girl in the newly added photo. Itachi stared at all the contents of the folder.

On the bottem corners of the folder were two more pictures. On the left corner, was a boy in his shinobi gear, along with his Clan's symbol placed proudly on his vest. He had onyx eyes and long golden hair, gathered in a semi-high pony tail.

On the right corner, was another boy, also in shinobi gear, only his Clan's symbol was on his shoulder. This boy had long jet black hair gathered in a low pony tail, and deep onyx eyes.

Behind the four pictures, white stationary with the Konoha Village symbol on the center top of the stationary layed. Under it was once again in written in silver was ' Team Zero '. Below that was information on the female member of the team. The name of the female read, ' Hyuuga Hitomi '. It too had her blood type, hair and eye color, date of birth, rank, team members, hobbies, likes, dislikes, and date of death.

Itachi slid the picture of the other girl out from its respected paper clip. Shortly after staring at the said picture for a few moments, he took the picture of Hinata out of the folder and held the two pictures side by side between his thumb and index finger. His eyes glancing from one picture to the next, studying the features of both females. Finally his eyes stayed upon Hinata's picture.

Itachi sighed as he closed his eyes. " You do know that this is all your fault, right, Hitomi? " His eyes traveled back to the other girl. " If only you stayed away from him, then I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble... "

With another inaudible sigh, Itachi placed both pictures back under their respected paper clips, closed the black folder, then tucked the folder back into the inside of his Akatsuki cloak. Itachi disappeared with a backwards glance towards the almost forgotten dark brown folder that was throw carelessly on top a table, leaving the floating flame to float towards the folder and fall on top of it, catching the folder and table instantly on fire.

**

* * *

**

Whoo. Well, I know there wasn't much... Itachi in this chapter, but... yeah. It'll come soon, I promise. Same for the ItacHina part. And hopefully no one is confused with what is going on. If you have any questions, feel free to either Review your questions, or send me a Personal Message. I'll be more then happy to answer them.

**A/N: M'kay, I'm a big Metal Gear Solid fan, and I'm currently playing Metal Gear Solid 2: Son's of Liberty. I got using 'Nanocommunications' from the game(s). For those who haven't played any of the Metal Gear Solid games, Nanocommunication's is a device that is implanted in your skull near your ear. The device is connected to your ear drum and sends little vibrations which form into words, and only you are able to hear what's being said. Now as for the talking part... I'm not to sure on that. xD They never explain it. Only the hearing part. And if they do explain it, I'm not paying attention. Though what I think it is, is part of the Nanocommunication, another device is implanted near your voice box, and the vibrations from what you say is transfered clear for the other person which turns into the little vibrations in your ear drum... or something. But that's just my guess!**

**Anyways, I hope this chapter is alright with you all. I tried my bestest. (Bestest is from YuYu Hakusho The Abridged movie.)**

**From, Memorias.**


	3. Mission

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Anime/Manga Naruto. I do how ever own this plot for this FanFict.**

**I know it's been a while since I updated. I've been really trying. And as for the 'Open Up' FanFict, Fan's, this is a warning. I've hit a writer's block. I'm so sorry! I've like like 2000 letters written to it so far, and I'm kind of stuck, so I'll most likely... delete that... and start over... or something. I'm so sorry.**

**Review Replies:**

**Murasaki Shikibu: Thank you. :3**

**HeartBrokenHinata: xD Yeppers! **

**kawaiiitahina123: Thanks. (I already answered your question through PM. :3)**

**mac2: She has, but they never answer her. They normally just tell her to ask her father about her. Which Hiashi would just end up making some excuse up about her training.**

**oreostar90: xD Well I hope you'll be happy with what's going to happen. And I so badly want to play MGS4. I've heard alot of good things about it.**

**KajiIzumi: Yeah I know... I tried my hardest to not do that. Sorry.**

**Gingerleaves: Thank you. xD I'm glad my "Its better to love" theory isn't considered stupid or something. And I'll most likely finish the story, it'll just take a little bit for me to get the chapters out. And about the dream, I'm sorry. I wanted things to be kind of confusing, so yeah. My bad.**

**Anyway! So yeah. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. If its confusing, let me know and I'll be more then happy to explain. I'm not getting any emails from this website, so just tell me your questions through a review with your email address, and I'll get right back to you. :3 Or I might just be lazy and answer your questions on the next chapter.**

**Please Read and Review! I'll love you forever.**

**From, Somnia.**

* * *

Tsunade took one last sip from her sake cup before placing it behind a tall stack of papers and calling out to the person who just knocked on her door. " Come in. " Tsunade picked up a pencil and acted like she was tending to some important paper work.

Shortly after Tsunade's words, Shizune slowly opened the door. " Tsunade-sama, the team you have requested has just arrived. "

" Ah. " Tsunade looked up from the papers at the door and gently laid the pencil down and picked up a few papers. " Send them in. " She tapped the bottom of the papers on her desk to straighten them.

Shizune opened the door wider and stepped aside so the said people could enter in the room. Naruto walked in with his hands behind his head and a look of annoyance on his features, followed by a broad Sasuke who had his hands in his pockets with a look of boredom on his face. After Sasuke, Hinata walked in with her hands clasped together in front of her. Hinata gave Shizune a brief nod and a smile with a whispered 'Thank you' before sitting in a chair between both boys.

Tsunade folded her arms on her desk and stared at the 3 shinobi in front of her. She cleared her throat of the slight burning tingle from the sake she just drank that was now slowly fading. " I have a mission for you three-- "

" I'm not going on a mission with 'him'! " Naruto stood up from his seat and pointed a finger at Sasuke over Hinata's head. His out burst random since he looked calm, then a split second later, he's yelling. But Tsunade wasn't so surprised.

Sasuke mearly looked at Naruto in the corner of his right eye. " Naruto, stop being so childish. You lost. End it already. "

Tsunade coughed a fake cough to get the attention of the two boys but she failed miserabely.

" I'm not being childish! You cheated in our sparring match! " Naruto stomped his foot like a little child. " You said you weren't going to use your Sharingan! "

" I lied. " Sasuke shrugged.

" Cheater! " Naruto's index finger shot back at Sasuke.

Hinata kept fidgeting in her chair while her eyes kept darting between Sasuke who was by her right side and Naruto who was by her left side. She tried to shrink her self so she wouldn't 'get in the way' of their little argument.

" Ahem? " Tsunade tried but again... only to fail merisabely... again.

Sasuke sighed. " That doesn't make me a cheater, dumb ass. It makes me a liar. Which you're the same. You said you weren't going to use your Kage Bushin's, but you used it anyways, which was the reason why I used Sharingan. " Sasuke glared at Naruto. " So don't say I'm a cheater when you were the first one to break your word and use Kage Bushin. "

" Just because I did it doesn't mean you get to too, teme! "

" And what lets you have that special privilege? Do tell. " Sasuke crossed her arms over his chest.

Naruto groaned. " Every thing. "

" Ah. Well that makes total sense. " Sarcasm.

" Damn it, Sasuke! You owe me a rematch-- "

Tsunade stood up from her chair suddenly. " OI! " Then with great force, Tsunade slammed her hands down on her desk, creating a loud hollow banging sound that echoed in the now silent room. All eyes were on her. " When you are in my office, I expect you to listen to me, and leave your pity arguments or whatever the hell is going on between you two _outside _of this room. Got it? " Her honey colored eyes kept darting between Sasuke and Naruto in an angry glare.

Naruto sat back down in his chair with a huff. " Sorry Baa-chan. "

Sasuke nearly grunted and looked at the wall on his left side, as if it was more interesting then any thing in the whole room.

Not liking the response she got from Naruto and Sasuke, and knowing full well that they would do it again, she had to do some thing 'drastic'. " If you two pull that shit again, I'll make the both of you go on D-rank mission's for a whole month with out Hinata there to hold your hands, and she'll end up teaming up with some one else for _this _mission. And it just so happened Sai just became available. " Tsunade's forehead dipped forward. " I'm sure he'll be more then happy to replace you two. " Tsunade said with a false lie. Sai was busy dealing with some personal problems at the moment, and went back to his original country, but they didn't need to know that. Not only that, but the reason _why _Tsunade said Sai, and not one of the male 'Rookie Nine', was because she knew that they knew that Sai had a... not-so-secret crush on Hinata, and he tended to show her every chance he got.

Naruto stood back up from his chair. " No way! " His protest was simply because he didn't want to be on a D-rank mission when he was a chunin, and didn't want to go in it alone with Sasuke. And Naruto really didn't like Sai, because of the... 'penis comment', and he doesn't like him hitting on Hinata shamelessly about how large her breasts are. Hinata is like a sister Naruto, and he doesn't want to hear some guy he doesn't like to talk about her breasts in front of every one as if it was nothing! It embarrassed her to no end, but he still continued with it. _'What kind of guy does that?!' _Naruto through angrily.

" No way in hell are you putting me on some lame ass D-missions for a month, especially with that idiot. " Sasuke motioned towards Naruto with his head. " Even though it's a D-misison, knowing him he'll most likely screw every thing up like he usually does. " Sasukes' protest was just about the same reasons Naruto protested. He doesn't want to be on any D-rank Missions, and he dislikes Sai. But for a few different reasons. True, Sai did mock him a few times about his body or attitude, but the main reason for Sasukes' dislike for Sai, was because of all the flirting he does on Hinata.

**_-_Flash back...ish-**

_The day that Naruto and Hinata found Sasuke, they were on a mission to get some herbs for the sudden illness that plagued a small village asking for assistance in Snow Country, and it just happened that Sasuke was on a spy mission for Orochimaru. Once they seen each other, Naruto tried to talk some sense into Sasuke to get him to leave Orochimaru and go back to Konoha with him and Hinata, but that didn't work out so well because Sasuke kept mocking him, which made Naruto mad and soon, Naruto charged at Sasuke at full force, which made the two other males in Sasuke's team rush at Naruto to protect Sasuke. And with that, the red haired kounochi also rushed at Hinata, when she made a move to help Naruto so it wouldn't be two-on-one. Sasuke stood back with crossed arms and an impassive expression as he watch Naruto fight with two of his teammates. Once the other males in Sasuke's team where down and either unconscious or dead, probably the latter, Naruto and Sasuke were in a full blown battle. In their eyes, winner takes all. If Sasuke won, he would get the Mangekyo Sharingan. And if Naruto won, he would take Sasuke back to Konoha, and get his teammate and best friend back._

_By the time Hinata was done taking down the red haired female by shooting a very large spike of chakra through the red head's spinal cord, causing her to fall on the ground from becoming paralyzed instantly, both boys were breathing harshly, and had all kinds of gashes on their bodies, though Naruto's health was far worse then Sasuke's since Naruto just fought against two of his teammates. Sasuke had Naruto pinned to the ground, his left hand holding onto Naruto's neck tightly, cutting off his air supply, while his right hand was held high with his katana aimed directly at Naruto's heart._

_Even though Hinata knew how much this fight meant to Naruto, and how much she didn't want to interrupt their match... If she doesn't do something soon, Naruto would die for sure. Just when Sasuke was about to ram his katana down on Naruto's chest at full force, Hinata pushed half of her chakra into her legs and made a dash for Sasuke. Tackling him down to the ground, Hinata pinned Sasuke down by having her legs on either side of his waiste, and mimicking his hold on Naruto's throat. Ignoring the intense glare that Sasuke was holding on Hinata, she raised her right hand up high into the air and brought it back down with special navy colored chakra loaded in her hand. Hinata whispered a small ' I'm sorry ' before her chakra filled palm landed straight on Sasuke's forehead, causing his Sharingan to over load and break, making him scream out in agony from the feeling of his eyes exploding right in their sockets. A special jutsu, created long ago from the Hyuuga's to keep the Uchiha's, who decended from the Hyuuga's in their place. Of course, the Uchiha's could also use that sealing jutsu on the Hyuuga's because of their of their Sharingan, so it was hardly used._

_Hinata jumped off of Sasuke when he started to thrash around to try to make the intense pain in his eyes and brain stop. Sasuke's constant screams echoed in the small clearing that was surrounded by thick trees, while his palms where on his forehead, and his finger nails digging into his scalp. Hinata heard the female scream out his name in a vain attempt to snap him out of his pain, but it went on deaf ears as Sasuke's continuous screams of agony drowned out her loud voice._

_Noticing how the female that was yelling a stream of colorful words and threats at Hinata and was starting to stand up slushishly, Hinata turned her full attention from Sasuke back to where she previously was and on the red head, pulled out a kunai from her weapons pouch, and threw it dead on in the center of the semi-paralyzed females forehead. The kunai being embedded into her forehead all the wway down to the shaft, causing instant death, making the colorful words, and her movements stop as she fell back to the ground with a hard thud. A look of surprise/shock perminatly etched on her lifeless features__. Hinata breathed out a sigh of relief, since now she doesn't have to worry about the female interferring anymore. She turned her attention back to Naruto who was struggling to sit up. Hinata ran a few steps to be at Naruto's side, then neiled down to be at his level. _

_Naruto's right hand wrapped around his bruised torso. " H-Hinata-chan... " He breathed out. " Wh-what did you do... to Sasuke? " Naruto asked as he tried to stand on his feet in order to get to the still screaming Sasuke._

_Hinata's vision was on Sasuke now. " I-I didn't... he isn't... he was going to... " Hinata shook her head to get rid of her guilty thoughts of fighting Sasuke when she told her self that his and Sasuke's fight was between them and she had no right to inteferring. Now wasn't the time to think about that. Sasuke almost killed him, and she did what she had to do at a time like that. " Naruto, you shouldn't move right now. " Her hands reached out for his shoulders and pushed Naruto back down to the ground softly. _

_Naruto tried to get back up, but having a bruised torso, a almost shattered left arm, a big cut on the side of his stomach, and a bruised ego made Hinata more powerful then him. " A-Answer me, Hinata... What did you... do to him? "_

_Hinata started digging in a pouch that held all of her medicine and medical supplies. " I just over loaded his Sharingan. " She whispered softly so Naruto would be the only one to hear. She didn't want Sasuke to hear and him might be able to fix his eyes. Her Father did say certain people could be able to do such a thing. " He isn't going to die, nor is he going to lose his eye sight. " _

_Naruto let out a shaky sigh and relaxed at hearing the news, letting Hinata push him back on the ground. Good, Sasuke wasn't going to die. Naruto then raised his right hand and started to shoo away Hinata's hands that were holding some gauze's, and a little container of white cream that he knew was going to sting like a bitch when she dabbed it on his wounds. " I'm fine. Take care of Sasuke first. He sounds like he's in a load of pain. "_

_" But-- " Hinata looked back at Sasuke, who's screams started to die down, and his movements started to slow. Due to low chakra and the pain from his head and eyes. Slowly but surely he was running out of steam, and was soon about to fall into unconsciousness._

_" No but's. I'm fine... You can take care of me later. Just... make sure he's ok and he... can't get away from us. "_

_Hinata bit her bottom lip softly. She knew she shouldn't worry about Sasuke right now, and focus on healing Naruto, but she also knew how Naruto is... he would rather worry about his friends wellfare then his own... Even if that friend abandoned him, his village, and almost killed him the day he left... and just a few moments ago. " F-fine. " Hinata said in defeat. " But I'm only going to do a quick check on him, seal his chakra away and paralyze his muscles. Then I'm working on you. " Her voice soft, yet determined to make sure he understood that she wanted him to follow her orders._

_Naruto did a half-assed grin. " Sure. "_

_A few days after their fight, Sasuke had yet to regain consciousness, so they couldn't move him. He was still fragile and weak to be moved. Though Naruto was almost 80 percent healed (Thanks to the 9 tailed fox ), he went ahead and went on to finish his and Hinata's original mission. Hinata was the one who told Naruto it would be for the best if he went ahead and finished the mission, and she would stay and take care of Sasuke, since she was the one who put him in his current unconscious state, also if something unexpected where to happen to Sasuke, she'd be able to handle it._

_Once Naruto left to finish their original mission, Hinata never left Sasuke's side for more then five minutes. Five minutes was enough to eat something, take a shower, use the bath room, ect. Though she did sleep by his side on the ground with her back against the wall, she would wake her self up every thirty minutes to make sure his breathing, and heart beat were all normal, and to make sure that he and the special sealing jutsu she placed on him was was still there._

_To keep her self busy, and to get rid of the awkward silence (which was really strange to Hinata since Sasuke was unconscious, so how could there be awkward silence? ) that seemed to float in the air in the room Sasuke was sleeping in, Hinata would talk to Sasuke as if they were old child-hood friends. The first day she spent apologizing to him for the pain she caused him. The second day she was blaming him, saying it was his fault he was in his current predicament. The third day, she was trying her best to remember some old academy stories that involved her and Sasuke... which wasn't many, but she still tried her best to make him feel more at peace and comfortable... though of course, he was unconscious, so what did it matter?_

_But... even though it seemed as if the young Uchiha was unconscious, he was wide awake, still able to hear what was going on outside world of his black vision, and limp body. He was also able to feel the delicate touches of when the almost unknown female shinobi of Konoha would check his wounds to make sure they were still closed, and to check his eyes, to make sure there was no savear damage dealt to them. Even though she told Naruto that he wouldn't lose his vision, she wasn't to sure about that. Hinata had no idea how much chakra she loaded in her palm. If she added to much chakra, there was no doubt that he would lose his vision._

_In the back of his mind, he sighed in relief when he heard that Naruto was leaving so he wouldn't have to deal with him. And also it'll make it that much easier for him to get better then kill the female that was looking after him, and go back to Orochimaru. But feeling the odd chakra course through his body, he knew it was going to be harder then just that. The first day of hearing the female spew out apologies, he so badly wanted to wake up his limp, almost lifeless body to scream at her for still being a fan girl after all these years, thinking she was only apologizing to him because she hurt the 'Sasuke-kun', though on the second day, his mind stayed quiet as he listened to the words she was speaking, about how she did what she had to do to protect her comrade, and how it was his fault, that if he never left, or engaged Naruto in battle, she wouldn't of had to hurt him. On the third day, Sasuke was finally able to place her face and voice... It was when she started to talk about the past._

_'_ Of course..._ ' His mind whispered as he listened to him talk about one day at the academy that involved him and her. She's only girl that never paid any attention to him... The second girl he ever had a crush on that was actually his age... How did he not notice it was her when she was on top of him and he was trying to wield her death through his glare?_

_When Sasuke was finally able to come out of his unconscious state, Naruto was already back from his mission. The blond Konoha Shinobi started to yell at Sasuke about how he should leave Orochimaru and go back to Konoha with them. Sasuke's head was turned to the opposite side of where Nartuo was, but in the corner of his eye, he could see Hinata standing in the door way, her hands where fidgeting nervously together in front of her. Hinata's voice floated through his head once he caught a glance of her. He remembered that on the third day, she broke down crying, saying that if he went back with them to Konoha willingly, she would do every thing in her power to save him from the hatred in peoples eyes, and to let him have some freedom. To regain his status as the Last Uchiha, and not the Traitor._

_In his mind, he knew she was saying, and willing to do all of that for Naruto, but in his heart, he told him self that she would do all of that for him. Him and him alone if he would just go. And of course, since his mind still had a voice, it kept repeating that he basically learned every thing from that prick Orochimaru, and Naruto did have some not-so-bad new moves, maybe he can go back to Konoha and learn more there? That was what his mind told him, so it wouldn't see as if he was going back to Konoha for her._

_So once Naruto started to yell at him about going back to Konoha, his mind was already made up. Still not looking at him, Sasuke mumbled a 'Whatever'._

_Naruto continued yelling at Sasuke before Sasuke mumbled word registered in his head. " And another thing-- Wait... what did you say? " He blinked._

_Sasuke sighed. " I said 'whatever'. He's still a dumb ass after all these years... " He grumbled the last part. _

_" R...really? "_

_Sasuke glared at Naruto. " I'm not in any position to argue or fight you two. So what other choice do I have? "_

**-End of Flash Back-**

When they went back to Konoha once Sasuke was well enough to walk, Hinata stuck to her promise that she made to Sasuke when she thought he was unconscious, and did all that she could to Sasuke out of trouble. Which meant she had to baby sit him almost every minute of the day, which meant she became his personal Care Taker. Having her around almost 24 hours a day made him fall for her even more. So of course he wouldn't like for any guy to hit on the girl he likes. Who would?

" Well then, you two better not pull that childish shit in here again. " Tsunade sat back down in her chair after giving the two boys a harsher glare. " Now, as I was saying before you two dumb asses interrupted me, I have a mission for you three. It might be considered an S-rank mission, it might not. A spy went missing in LimeStone Village four days ago. "

" One of our own? " Sasuke asked in all seriousness. He wouldn't want for the 'old hag' to change her mind about sending him and Naruto on D-missions for a month, and Hinata on the mission alone with that ass hole Sai.

" No. He was actually just a regular civilan. " Tsunade shrugged. " We had a deal that he would get us information on what the Akatsuki were currently looking for, if we take his children to Konoha and give them a life here. "

" So what happened to him? "

Tsunade sighed. " Well we don't know Naruto. That's why I want you three to go over to the village he is living in as a mission in a mission. "

Naruto tilted his head to the side. " Do what now? "

" I suspect that what ever happened to his disappearance, has to do with the Akatsuki. The information Uron, our spy was supposed to get on us was that the Akatsuki is after some special kind of drug or antidote. " Before Naruto could ask, Tsunade kept going. " We're not sure what kind of drug or antidote. We believe that perhaps one of their own got hit with some certain jutsu that either locked away their chakra, or just needs the antidote to heal one of them. We're not to sure on the details. Uron wasn't a shinobi. He was a normal man that just so happened to have special connections with some very powerful medic shinobis, and the Akatsuki found out about it. "

" What kind of deal d-did Uron-san and the Akatsuki have? " Hinata's soft voice was heard.

" Money or power. " Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. " I dont know. Something generic like that. That Uron bastard would never tell me. " She grumbled angrily.

" So you think that the Akatsuki found out that this Uron guy was giving you information about them, and they found out and killed him? "

" Basically yes, Naruto. That's why I'm sending you three on a mission for a mission. "

" ...A what now? " Naruto asked with another tilt of his head to the other side.

" What Tsunade-sama means is she's sending us on a fake mission for the real mission. In order to decive any one from knowing what our real mission is. " Hinata answered for Tsunade and Sasuke, knowing full well that Sasuke was about to say some smart alek remark to Naruto since she heard him sigh and take a breath to get ready to say his little 'comment'.

" Ohhhh. " Naruto said with a slight nod.

" Yes. The fake mission is in Candoglia Village, a few miles past LimeStone Village. In Candoglia Village, you'll need to get some glow in the dark stones for one of the merchants here... or something to that matter. Shizune or Kakashi will fill you in later. Anyways, you three will be staying a few nights at LimeStone Village to investigate what happened to Uron. " Tsunade's eyes stayed focused on Sasuke's. " I know what you're probably thinking Sasuke, about the Akatsuki-- "

" I know. " Sasuke closed his eyes. " Rumors has it that Itachi is either dead or isn't with the Akatasuki any more, since the Black Ops haven't seen him with the Aktasuki for a few months. "

Tsunade slowly nodded. " So you do know that there is less then a 5 percent chance that he'll be connected to this, right? "

Sasuke's eyes snapped opened and glared at the Hokage. " I said I know. " His words were said harshly through gritted teeth. " Besides, I made a promise that I wouldn't go after him with out your consent, right? "

" That's right. " Tsunade nodded again. " And you only got _that _from help from Hinata. So don't waste all of her hard work and effort just because you think your brother might be involved. "

Sasuke looked at Hinata in the corner of his eye for a second before fixing his gaze back on Tsunade. " I wont. " He said through gritted teeth.

" Good. " Tsunade cleared her throat and picked up the small stack of papers she just had in her hands, then once again tapped them on the desk so they would be straight. " Now listen, " Tsunade's voice became serious, making all three chuunin straighten up in their seats. " since I've been sending you three out on special missions that requires the strenght, and mental abilities that you three... " Tsunade stopped when her eyes landed on Naruto, then cleared her throat again. " That most of you have, and since most of the time all of your team mates are either busy with daily activities and or missions, and I hardly ever send them with you three, I'm going to go ahead and make you three a special team. "

Naruto's blue eyes started shining brightly. " You mean like the Black Ops?! " Naruto so badly wished he could have a cool team name like that. Team seven is a boring and dull team name.

" You could say that. " Tsunade sighed as she rubbed the frown between her brows. A headache was slowly working its way in her brain, and Naruto's loud high pitched voice wasn't helping it. " Your three are now called Team Zero. "

Sasuke's right eye twitched. " I decline. " His voice deadpanned.

" What? " Naruto looked at Sasuke with confused eyes. " Why? Team Zero sounds awesome! "

" You cannot decline this, Uchiha. " Tsunade stated matter of factly.

" Well I just did. " Sasuke also stated matter of factly.

Tsunade sighed. She had a feeling he was going to be a big problem about this topic. " Why? "

Sasuke snorted. " As if you didn't know. 'Team Zero' is my-- _was _my brother's team when he still lived here. It belongs to him, and his teammates... "

" And that's why you don't want it? " Tsunade paused long enough to see the 'What-the-hell-do-you-think?' look from Sasuke. " Well that's just stupid, Uchiha. " Tsunade's lips made a thin line. " 'Team Zero' wasn't Itachi's team title first. The title 'Team Zero' is passed down from generation, to generation. Only the truely gifted and talented could make it in this Team. Hence the name 'Team Zero' since there are hardly any shinobi out there that is worth of such a title. "

" Still it was his last-- "

" Still nothing! Your brother wasn't the only special person out there, Uchiha. Same for Shisui and-- "

" Don't. Say. That. Name. " Sasuke said with malice loathing through his gritted teeth, earning confusing looks from Hinata and Naruto. " Don't bring her into this. "

' _Who's name? Who are you taking about, Sasuke? _' Hinata thought in confusion as her eyes tried to find some sort of emotion besides anger and hate from the Uchiha.

Tsunade's ruby red lips gaped open slightly as she stared at Sasuke. She then cleared her throat. " My apologies, Sasuke... But you have to understand what I'm trying to get at. You three are perfect for the title 'Team Zero'. But if you want... " Tsunade paused again with closed eyes, not believing what she was about to say. " If you want, we'll change the name to 'Team X'. "

Sasuke held in a scoff, as he too closed his eyes. " Leave it the way it was. " Sasuke said in defeat, yet it didn't show in his voice. He didn't wish to argue when the old hag had to go bring 'her' up.

' _Damn boy wants to go making all that noise, then when I tell him we can change the teams name, and he says no. What the hell? That's the last time I'm going to be nice. _' Tsunade groan in frustration. " Good. Now you three leave an in hour. So pack well, but make sure that so no one in LimeStone Village knows that you three are investigating the disappearance of Uron. Kakashi will be waiting at the gate to fill you all in on what's left to be explained. Understood? "

" Yes. " All three chuunin said as they stood up from their chairs.

" Good. You are dismissed. " Tsunade made a hand gesture telling them to go.

**--**

Once the door closed to Tsunade's office, the three began to walk down the curved hall to get to the stairs that'll lead them out of the Hokage Tower.

" Soooo... " Naruto asked with his hands once again behind his head. " What do you guys plan on doing? "

" Well I'm going to go home and pack for the mission. " Hinata nodded slightly.

" What else would we do dumb ass? We only have an hour to get ready. " Sasuke said as he walked past Naruto and Hinata.

Naruto sighed. " It doesn't take me an hour to pack. Only like 5 minutes, so I figure that-- "

" It doesn't take you an hour to pack because you just grab whatever you can get your hands on first and shove it into your pack. But normal shinobi take their time to pack and plan things out, so they wont have too much of one thing, and not enough of the other. For example, you might pack to much clothes when you might need weapons. Or you might pack to much weapons when you might need clothes. No telling how long we're going to be on this mission for, because don't forget, we have to do that other mission to do as well. Not to mention, just shoving your stuff in your pack makes things disorganized. What if you need a weapon right away, and you're out of the ones from your pouches? The enemy isn't going to just stand back and let you take your time to empty your pack to find a weapon. "

Naruto childishly stuck his tounge out at Sasuke, causing Hinata to giggle. " Blah, blah, blah! That's all I'm hearing from you, Sasuke-teme. "

Sasuke groaned and murmured a few curse words before pushing the main door open, revealing the main street of Konoha.

" Well, see you in a bit, Hinata-chan! " Naruto said in his normally hyper over excited voice before running in the direction of his apartment, not giving Hinata a chance to say her good bye's to him.

Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and turned in the direction of where his apartment was but was stopped when he heard a soft voice.

" See you in an hour, Sasuke. " A light pink tint coated Hinata's cheeks.

Sasuke turned his head to the side to see Hinata, then nodded his head. " Mm. "

* * *

" There, that should do it. " Hinata said to her self with her bottom lip lightly caught between her teeth. " I hope I didn't pack to much... "

" You didn't Hinata, stop saying that. " Hanabi said for what felt like the umpteenth time in the last 30 minutes.

" I know but... you can never be to careful. " Hinata sat down on her bed next to Hanabi who was laying down on her back with her head kind of dangling off of the side of the bed.

" What ever you say, Hinata. " Hanabi flipped positions so she would be laying on her stomach. " So you don't know how long you'll be gone on this mission? "

Hinata shook her head. " No. Tsunade-sama said that we'll be staying in LimeStone Village for 3 days, and the journey up there will take at least 2 days. Then we'll have to go to Candoglia Village, which from LimeStone Village will take about a day or two. Then we'll have to take the stones we're collecting from there which will take a few more days, then go back to LimeStone Village and stay there for 3 more days, so it won't seem obvious that we were staying there because of Uron-san, then go back Konoha which will take another 2 days. "

Hanabi yawned. " Eh, Sounds like fun. " Hanabi drew her arms together and laid her head on her now enclosed arms. Her eyes slowly closing.

A frown graced Hinata's features. " Hanabi-chan, have you been getting any sleep? "

" Mm... Not really... "

" When have you been going to sleep? " Hinata asked as she gently grabbed Hanabi's shoulders and pulled her into her lap.

Hanabi snuggled closer to Hinata's lap before answering. " Well, Father wants me in bed before midnight, but most of the time I'm just laying in bed staring at the ceiling past 4:30am. "

" How long has this been going on? " Hinata's fingers gently massaging Hanabi's scalp.

" I don't know... I guess a few months? "

Hinata was quiet for a few seconds before talking again. " Has Father been pushing your training to hard? "

" Not really. " Hanabi yawned her words.

" Mm... You should really take your-- " Hinata's words were interrupted by two quick soft knocks on her door. Hanabi groaned before pushing her self off of Hinata's lap and throwing her legs over the bed to stand. Hinata also stood from her bed and quickly walked over to her door to open it. " Yes? "

" Hinata-sama, " A female Hyuuga servant, a few decades older then Hinata, bowed lowly. " Your Father would like to see you before you leave on your mission. "

" Oh, ok. Thank you for telling me, Sekai-san. " Hinata bowed her head as well before the servant left to finish what ever she was doing before she was ordered to find Hinata. Once Sekai was gone, Hinata closed her door then pushed her back against it with a slight groan escaping her now tightened throat.

" You really shouldn't make him wait. Remember what happened last time. " Hanabi's thin pale arms rose up in the air above her head as her fingers entwined together in a stretch.

" I know. I just... I already know what he's going to say. " The words were mumbled as Hinata slowly walked over to her bed and picked up her newly packed traveling pack. Slinging the pack over her shoulder, Hinata adjusted the shoulder straps so the pack wouldn't fall off of her shoulders.

" Then get it over with already. " Hanabi dropped her out stretched arms and patted Hinata's head before walking past her older sister and out her room.

Hinata sighed as too walk out of her room, closing the door behind her, then walking down the long halls to her father's study, where she knew he would be at. Her small delicate fingers reached up towards the top of her head to smooth down the strands of dark blue back into place before her hand out reached towards the large door she now stood in front of to knock, though her hand was haulted half way towards the door.

" Come in, Hinata. " Hiashi's loud voice boomed past the wooden door, making Hinata draw her hand back to her side only to out reach it again to open the sliding door, then close it again once she was in her father's study. A few light gingerly steps were taken foward, bringing Hinata in front of her father's desk.

Hinata bowed with her hands clinching the pack's straps so it wouldn't fall forward. " You wanted to see me, Father? " Hinata stood up straight when she was sure she bowed long enough then looked her father in the eye.

" Yes, " Hiashi cleared his throat before standing. " How long will you be on this mission? "

" Tsunade-sama hasn't filled us in on how long the mission will be, " Hinata gulped as Hiashi's eyes narrowed at her reply. Most likely for her not knowing the answer to such a simple question. " But from the distance of Konoha to LimeStone Village, to Candoglia Village, and the days we'll spend at either village, then to do the missions, I'm guessing it'll take at least 15 days. How ever, that might change if the Akatsuki really are involved with this mission. "

Hiashi's eyes went back to their normal stern state as he nodded, accepting her response. " Good. Make sure you send a letter by Carrier Bird every 3 days. " Hiashi paused long enough to see Hinata nod. " And when you get back, we will resume your training as Heiress. Your seventeen birthday is coming up soon. You'll only have a year left untill your eighteenth birthday, and you'll gain full title of the Hyuuga Heiress. "

" Yes, Father. " The words were almost said with a sigh of relief. ' _He's actually starting to have faith in me. _'

Hiashi cleared his throat again as he walked past Hinata and started to open the door, only to halt his actions. " And Hinata, on this mission, don't-- "

Hinata's head tilted down. ' _Of course... _' Her eyes closed with her thoughts. ' _"Don't get in any one's way" He always says that... I should of known he'll never believe in me. _'.

" Don't let any one get in your way on this mission. "

Hinata's head snapped up from Hiashi's words. Her mouth gaped and light pale lavender eyes wide.

Hiashi turned to look at his daughter. " You are the Hyuuga's Heiress... now. Don't let any one get in your way... Ever. " With that said, Hiashi slid open the door to his study, tucked his hands together in the sleeves of his robe and walked out, leaving the door open so Hinata could leave as well.

The pale lavender eyes of Hinata's stayed locked ahead of her across Hiashi's desk, her body frozen in place. Had she really heard those words her Father just said? Did he actually say nice words to her? The so called 'Failure'? A small smile graced Hinata's features as she turned in her spot and walked out of her Father's Study, closing the door behind her.

The Hyugga Heiress jogged past a few Elders, servents, and Main Branch Hyuugas, uttering a few 'hello's and 'Excuse me's to each member she passed, and down the many and long halls of the Hyuuga Mansion, that eventually lead her to the garden next to the Hyuuga Cemetery. Her feet came to a halt when her eyes caught sight of a white cloth behind a large tomb stone. Hinata swallowed the dryness in her throat. ' _That looked like Neji's shirt. Probably paying respects to his father... I shouldn't bother him. _' Hinata made a motion to continue walking towards the main gates, but stopped again. ' _But that's the side of the cemetery for important Main House members. _' Hinata licked her lips as her eyes darted towards the figure standing in front of a large tomb stone that looks to be a mark of some one of great importance. ' _I should say bye to him before I leave... _' Though curiosity was stronger then saying 'bye', since she wanted to know who he was paying his respects to.

The little voice in the back of her mind was telling her not to bother Neji while he was paying his respects to the dead, but knowing about Neji's great hate against the Main Branch members of the Hyuuga, Hinata wanted to know who he would be visiting at the Main Branch Hyuuga cemetery.

Hinata's hands unconsciously tightened around her pack's straps as she moved toward the headstone where Neji was at. She took careful slow steps, so she wouldn't startle or disturb Neji. Once only a few feet away from the headstone, Neji's voice was heard.

" Hinata, what are you doing here? "

Hinata stopped in her tracks. " Anou... I was... I wanted to see you before I left on my mission. "

Neji tuned his head a little to get a look at Hinata. " I heard about it from Hanabi-sama. It's a S-ranked mission, correct? " He turned his attention back to the head stone he was currently looking at.

" Mm. " Hinata licked her dry lips again. " But it might not be, depending on who's there or who's involved. "

" Ah. " Was all Neji said.

" Anou, Neji, who are you visiting? " Hinata slowly began to move to stand next to Neji to get a better look at the name engraved on the stone.

Neji was silent for a few seconds before responding. " An old friend of mine... "

Once she was side by side with Neji, Hinata's eyes widened as she read the name.

**Hyuuga, Hitomi.**

" W-who was she? " The words instantly flew out of Hinata's mouth as her eyes stayed locked on the name. Her mind kept re-reading it over and over.

Neji cleared his throat. " The Hyuuga Heiress... Your sister. "

Hinata exhaled as her eyes darted from the name to Neji. " T-this is her? "

" Yes. " Neji knelt in front of the headstone to get a better look at it. " When you were born, you were sheltered away from every thing, because you were born 2 months before your due date. You were so weak, so you never got to know her. "

Hinata swallowed again. " W-why hasn't any one showed me this before? "

Neji sighed. " Your Father, my uncle didn't want to bring up painful memories, since Hitomi-sama was a blessing to the Hyuuga name. She was every thing this clan needed. Hiashi-sama didn't want you to feel as if you were just a replacement. You're lucky he even told you you had an older sister. " Neji closed his eyes in thought.

" But... " Hinata looked back at the stone. ' _That's not a good enough reason... _' Hinata's breathing and heart started racing. ' _Its not fair. He... some one should of told me... I've never been able to meet her, why would they keep me from at least visiting her grave? _' She tried her bes to keep her tears from falling. " He didn't even tell me her name... "

Still with closed eyes, Neji turned and started walking towards the Branch House. " You should leave. Don't want you to be late for your mission. "

" Neji, " Hinata called out, though Neji kept walking. " How did she die? " Hinata's lavender eyes never straying from her sister's name.

Neji only uttered one word which made Hinata's eyes widen in shock and confusion.

" Uchiha. "

* * *

**Heh... Please don't kill me! I promise, every thing will be cleared in the next few chapters! I promise! And I know a few of you might be disappointed about the 'sister' thing. But yeah. Its part of the FanFict... apprently. I kind of made that part up last minute. Please continue reading so you'll find out what happens, you'll be shocked... unless you've already figured out what is going to happen. If you have, please don't tell any one. D:**

**A/N: Ok, now... I know the thing about what happened with Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto in the past kind of came out of no where, but... I kind of needed that to be explained and to get out of the way, so yeah... if you were confused about any thing... I'm sorry. I've gone over it like a dozen times so it won't be _so _confusing. Also, I know its not really all that interesting, and there's not even a fight scene in there, but 1: I suck at fight scenes, 2: I wanted to get it over with, 3: Um... I really haven't been... watching any of the new episodes of the anime, nor have I read any thing about the manga, so um... I really don't know any thing about Sasuke's teammates and whatnot, so yeah. Sorry bout that.**

**Anyways, please review. :3**

**From, Memorias.**


	4. Story

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Anime/Manga Naruto or its characters. I do how ever own the idea for this plot. **

**Alright, so! Fourth Chapter is finally out! Yay! Took me a while, right? I'm so sorry. I've just been put under alot of stress lately with... ah well I'm sure you all don't want to hear about my little problems. Anyways I tried my hardest to work on it every day. But stress mixed with lack of sleep, also mixed with having a migraine every day for more then a few weeks isn't very helpful. I would spend more then 4 hours on this chapter a day, and only get a few sentences out. Sad, huh? Its just I wasn't very happy with what I was writing, so I'd end up starting over on one part (many times), then have to go back further into the chapter to get what I just wrote to match with what I wrote before that, so I was having trouble with it. Anyways! On to the comment replies!**

**Comment Replies:**

**GingerLeaves: Thank you! I'm trying my best to fix the spelling errors. I'll take more time out to re-read the chapter a few times to make sure I won't miss any thing. But knowing me I'll probably miss alot. xD**

**Emmeline Creazil: xD Thank you. :3**

**HeartBrokenHinata: I know, huh? I wasn't really expecting it my self! I was originally planning for Neji to just say she was just some Main Branch Hyuuga member that the whole Clan liked, and the 'Uchiha' part, but then I was like '...Heeeeeeeeey! What if she was Hinata's sister? That'd be awesome!'. **

**winterkaguya: Shhhh... *whispers* Your questions will be answered in this chapter. ;3**

**mac2: Neji knows Hitomi because he's older then Hinata. Not only that, but (In this FanFiction) Hinata was born 2 months earlier then her due date, so she was in a weak condition and always sheltered from the out side world. The only people that were able to visit her were the doctors, nurse's, her mother and Hiashi. When she was around 7 years of age or so, she was finally strong enough to leave the hospital and all that stuff, but Hitomi died, so Hinata was never able to know her. That's basically it.**

**Lilypipo: I can't say if Hitomi was apart of Itachi's team... though I'm sure you all know if she is apart of it or not xD. Yes, Neji and Sasuke knew Hitomi, but Hinata didn't because she was born 2 months earlier then her due date, so Hinata wasn't well enough to meet Hitomi. No, the Jutsu Itachi is after isn't the one Hinata used on Sasuke in the flash back. Itachi already knows about that jutsu since he was the Heir to the Uchiha Clan, and ANBU Captain. The information Akatsuki wanted from Uron was a special kind of antidote and/or jutsu that'll be explained later in the chapters when Itachi appears more and him and Hinata finally meet face to face in the FanFiction. And I can't tell you what he's planning! I'll give alway all of the surprises! That won't be fun. xD Sorry.**

**Sincerly- MiSS J: Hmm... I never really thought of putting a flash back of Sai hitting on Hinata in the FanFict... but I might just do that now (not in this chapter though. I want to get a few things out before). xD Thank you! And yes, you guessed right. Sasuke did have a crush on Hitomi. Also, I know this story seems like its going to be a whole 'reincarnation' thing as you said in your reply, but... not to give any thing away, but there's a good chance that that won't be happening in this FanFict. ;3**

**harley944: Yes he did. :3**

**Tw33ty JR.: :D You'll find out what happens soon enough. I hope it'll meet your expectations. :3**

**Gaahina_chan: Yay, I caught some one's attention! I feel special now. x3 And thanks!**

**midnight blue08: Yeppers on the first two things. And the third person apart of the team was said in the third chapter, but I guess I really didn't make it clear enough. It'll be further explained in this chapter. As for the rest of your comment well... you'll just have to find out later! And having speculations is fine. :3 Its nice to see peoples guesses about what's going to happen in the story. xD**

**Thank you every one who commented! I love you all! And to every one else, you don't have to comment, but its much appreciated and will make me want to get the next chapter out faster. So please review, I'll love you too!**

**Now, on to the Fourth Chapter of Trust or Betrayal!**

**From, Somnia.**

* * *

**Previously--**

_Still with closed eyes, Neji turned and started walking towards the Branch House. " You should leave. Don't want you to be late for your mission. "_

_" Neji, " Hinata called out, though Neji kept walking. " How did she die? " Hinata's lavender eyes never straying from her sister's name._

_Neji only uttered one word which made Hinata's eyes widen in shock and confusion._

_" Uchiha. "_

* * *

' _Why didn't they tell me about Hitomi-sama? I have a right to know about my own sister, even if she did die before I knew her... _' Hinata's steps down the dirt roads of Konoha were slow as she made her way down to Konoha's main gates where she needed to be at to start the mission with Sasuke and Naruto. Her eyes never leaving the brown dirt of the road, nor giving any attention to the little kids running by her playing and laughing. ' _What exactly do they have to gain from not telling me about Hitomi-sama? I just... I don't understand... None of this makes any sense what so ever...! _'

It took Hinata a good 5 minutes of staring at the name carved into the head stone that she remember she had to be at the main gates in less then 10 minutes. Even though she knew she had a mission to do, she didn't want to leave the tomb stone so soon after finding it. The only thing that made Hinata leave the cemetery was only because part of the deal with letting Sasuke still live in Konoha as a shinobi, was that he, and his team couldn't be late in starting a mission, or ending one. Hatake Kakashi was normally Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata's team leader, even if he never went with them on any missions, he still had to report to the Hokage that he showed up to starting, and finishing the mission. It would also still count if one of his teammates were late, and Hinata couldn't be selfish like that and get Sasuke in trouble with Tsunade or the Village Elder's. This little 'rule' also included the team's leader. When Shizune requested Kakashi's company for the mission, Tsunade told him that the mission was to start an hour before it's actual starting time, since Kakashi has a horrible record for always being late.

" Hinata! "

A loud pitch hyper voice pierced through Hinata's thoughts. " Eh? " Hinata looked up with confused eyes but only seen forest making the confusion in her eyes double.

" I called out your name but you walked right past us and out the gate. " Naruto said as he jogged towards Hinata, his hands wrapped around his pack's traps that were around his shoulders.

Hinata turned around to see Naruto slow his pace down to a complete stop. Behind him she could see Kakashi looking at her and Naruto with his book out and Sasuke leaning on the right side of the gate's panel with his arms crossed over his chest, he also was looking at the her with a curious look in his eyes. Hinata turned her eyes back to Naruto's bright blue ones. " I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I was just... " A smile made its way on Hinata's lips as she tilted her head to the left. " thinking about the mission and every thing. I guess I got caught up in all the thinking. " Hinata laughed lightly and raised her right hand in a light fist and tapped her forehead, in a attempt to throw Naruto off of her worrying. She didn't want to make other people worry about her.

" Oh... Well it just shows your dedication to the mission! That's why you're such a good shinobi, Hinata-chan! " Naruto grinned wide as he and Hinata both made their way to the gate where Sasuke and Kakashi were waiting. Naruto ran towards Kakashi and started asking the laid back looking shinobi some random question about the mission.

Hinata slowly followed Naruto back to the others, but at a much slower pace. When Hinata finally was around the group, Sasuke pushed off of the gate gaining Hinata's attention. Sasuke then tilted his head up then mouth 'What's wrong?'.

Hinata smiled at Sasuke's concern and lightly shook her head while mouthing 'I'll tell you later.'.

Sasuke nodded his head once knowing Hinata would tell keep her word and tell him later. That was another good thing about having Hinata his personal care taker for 2 years. She learned to trust him enough to talk to him about her problems. Hinata even confessed to him one day a few months back that she felt she could talk to him more freely then she can with her teammates and sensei. And Kurenai-sensei was like a mother to her.

" I'm sure you will, Naruto. " Kakashi's bored voice was heard followed by a sigh. " Now then, " Both Sasuke and Hinata turned their attention to Kakashi, knowing full well he was about to tell them their mission. " since we're all back in Konoha again, " Kakashi added, making Hinata blush a light pink while looking down, letting her long indigo bangs cover her face. " This mission's only purpose is to find out what happened to Uron. Nothing else, nothing more. How ever, if the... " Kakashi paused and lowered his voice. " Akatsuki aren't involved with Uron's disapperance, then you'll have to go to Candoglia Village and get the rocks needed for one of our local merchants. " Kakashi turned towards the gates left panel. " You'll be taking this cart so it'll be easier for you three to haul. " He laziedly gestured towards the cart by the panel with a wave of his hand.

" Um... " Naruto looked at the cart, then back at Kakashi. Sasuke and Hinata's eyes locked at the gesture Naruto was making towards the cart. " Who's going to be the one pushing the cart? "

" Not me. " Sasuke said once the words left Naruto's mouth.

" Then I'm not either! " Naruto said with a huff as he crossed his arms over his chest, as if saying what he said was final.

" Now-now you two... " Kakashi said in a bored and barely audible tone of voice, not really caring what was going on as he picked up where he was last at in his book.

Sasuke yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth. " That's fine with me. But just so you know, you pushed the cart pulling on Hinata. "

" Eh? " Naruto blinked before he smacked his hand against his forehead, making a loud smacking noise. " That's not fair, Sasuke! " Naruto pointed at Sasuke. " You put it on her as well! "

" Che. " Sasuke leaned back against the gate's pannel again. " Not really since I said the first one to say I didn't want to push the cart. You could of been more mature then saying you weren't going to just because I said I wasn't going to. "

" ...What? " Naruto asked dumbfound.

" Anou... it'll be fine. I don't mind pushing the cart. " Hinata walked up behind the cart, then took off her pack to rest it on the cart.

" Thanks Hinata-chan, for always being the mature one in the group. " Kakashi said while he walked next to Hinata, and rested his right hand on top of her head while his left hand still held his little orange book. Kakashi smiled through his visible eye.

Sasuke held in the urge to roll his eyes as Hinata started muttering 'Its no proplem' in a low quiet shy voice. She was never really good at being praised on something, and Kakashi tried to praise her every chance he got. '_ Tsh, I wonder why._' Sasuke thought sarcastically. Naruto asked their sensei one day when Hinata wasn't there to train with them, that why he always praised Hinata on the simplest things.

Kakashi, like always, took his time to answer. His excuse was " _Its very simple, Naruto. Since Hinata-chan is the Hyuuga Heiress, she is pressured to do alot of things, with out getting a simple 'Thank you', or 'Good job', since it's her "Duty as Heiress". Hinata-chan isn't use to getting compliments, or praise, so she's so self-conscious about her self. Don't you think Hinata-chan deserves to be praised every now and then, even if it is 'simple things' she does? She does, after all bring us meals every time we train together, so we won't be hungry and leave the training grounds to get something to eat, so then once we're done eatting, we can continue with our training. And she does this with out us even asking. She's always thinking about us. Don't you think we should try to do whatever we can to boost her ego, so she'll be more confident. Don't you think so, hmm, Naruto? _"

This of course made Naruto stutter a few things then look at the ground in embarrassment. What Kakashi said was true, and made Naruto feel horrible since he never really thought of it like that. But Kakashi's real reason for all the compliments on Hinata...

Sasuke sighed.

Naruto's ears perked up. " Hinata-chan, " Naruto jogged towards Hinata while also taking off his pack to lay on the cart. " I'll push it. " He too wanted to be praised when ever he could.

" Naruto-kun, I really don't mind pushing it. You always have to pull the cart... "

" Nah. " Naruto said while rotating his shoulders. " It'll be fine. Besides, I'll just see it as physical training. " Naruto grinned at Hinata.

Hinata crossed her hands behind her lower back then shifted her weight on her right leg. " If you say so. But if you get tired, let me know and I'll take over for a bit. "

" Alright. Thanks, Hinata-chan. I'm glad you're on the team, and that you're not like stupid Sasuke-teme. " Naruto made a scrunched up face at Sasuke's name.

Sasuke held in the urge to roll his eyes again.

" Well, well... " Kakashi finally tucked away his orange book in his weapons pouch he keeps on his hip. " That's very kind of you, Naruto. It seems you're growing up. "

" Awww! Kakashi-sensei, I'm always kind. And I'm very mature! " Naruto raised his right thumb pointed to his puffed out chest, his eyes closed while a grin mixed with a smirked graced his features.

" You keep telling your self that, Naruto. " Kakashi said laziedly, making Naruto's posture sag.

Hinata got away from the cart where Naruto and Kakashi were having their little 'argument', making it over to where Sasuke was standing before Naruto shouted loudly at Kakashi about how he's a better ninja then Kakashi is. And how one day he'll be Hokage.

Sasuke smirked once Hinata was by his side. " I told you it would work. " Sasuke's tone of voice was low.

Hinata looked down, kicking a rock free of the dirt, not choosing to say anything but keep her head down.

This made Sasuke sigh. " And I told you not to offer to pull the cart. "

She winced at his annoyed tone. " I-I know, but he always pulls the cart... I feel bad for doing that to Naruto-kun... " Her words were whispered. Sasuke was the one who came up with the idea to make Naruto pull the cart the next time 'Cart Pulling' was included in the mission. Hinata objected to it at first, but after Sasuke pestered her about how it would be a good thing for Naruto to get the 'extra training', Hinata finally agree, since she, her self didn't want to pull the cart. After spending a few years looking after the Uchiha, she picked up some of his 'habbits', ways he talked, and acted. Admitting she didn't want to do something, and be 'selfish' was one of the things she picked up from him. Though, she still felt bad about it. That, she could never get rid of.

" You'll get over it. " Sasuke's reply was blunt as he made his way back to where Kakashi and Naruto where at. Hinata following closely behind him with her head still down in what she felt was shame. " So is that it? " Sasuke cross his arms over his chest.

" Hm? " Kakashi looked away from Naruto to Sasuke with bored eyes. " Oh, right. " Sasuke's words finally registering in his mind. Kakashi raised a lazy hand to the back of his head then ran his fingers through his hair. His other hand started to dig in his weapons pouch for something. " Basically. You will report to the Hokage every day by carrier bird, and yeah. If the Akatsuki are involved with this mission, you are not to get involved further. " Kakashi looked back at Sasuke, his eyes narrowing slightly in meaning.

Sasuke groaned as his teeth gritted in annoyance and anger. " I know already. The old hag already told me about this. You don't have to repeat it. "

" Uh-huh. " Kakashi's hand finally left his weapons pouch, a small scroll clutched lightly in his grasp. Handing the scroll over to Hinata, Kakashi continued. " _If _the Akatsuki are involved, you are to return to Konoha as fast as you can. Leave the cart, and the mission in Candoglia village. In case you are unable to make it back to Konoha, due to a fight, before you leave Lime-Stone Village, send a message by carrier bird of what you know so we'll be on guard and wary of what's going on and if you three suddenly disappear with out a trace. But if possible, avoid combat at all costs. " Kakashi's eyes flickered at Sasuke again, causing a inaudible growl from the Uchiha.

" Hinata-chan, you'll be in charge of sending the bird out. Report whatever strange activities that are happening in the village. And remember, one of the Akatsuki is a master at puppetry. He might have a few puppets walking around to keep an eye on things. So be wary. " Hinata nodded. " Every thing else you need to know is in the scroll I just handed you. Also, " Kakashi reached back into his pouch and pulled out a one inch thick bundle wrapped in black worn leather. He also handed this bundle to Hinata. A second wrapped black bundle was hidden on the bottom of the larger bundle. Kakashi lightly tapped his pinky against Hinata's thumb when he has handing the two bundles to her. A secret code him and her made up one day when they were both on a mission together with out any one else. " this is for the hotel room, and other living expensive needed. Like always, Hinata-chan will be in charge of handling the money. "

When Hinata moved to put the wrapped leather bundle in her pouch, she pushed the hidden bundle inside of her jackets sleeve, letting it slide down a hidden pocket.

Naruto groaned loudly. " Why do you always put Hinata-chan in charge of every thing? Every mission she's always in charge of sending the birds and reporting, and she's always in charge of the money! " Naruto started to bounce on his heels to keep some of his frustration in check. He wasn't mad at Hinata, he was mad at Kakashi. " Why don't you ever put me or Sasuke-teme in charge of something every once in a while? "

Kakashi sighed. " Because, Naruto, if you were in charge of the money, you'd buy nothing but ramen. " Naruto opened his mouth to say 'What's wrong with ramen?!' but Kakashi continued hastily. " Though there's nothing wrong with ramen, you three will be gone for 15 to 18 days, and you need to ration your money. Though I'm pretty sure you three each brought your own supply of money, this is just to help with the hotel and what have you, and Hinata-chan is good at making this money last and not spending it on junk food. " Naruto scrunched his face as a light pink tint covered his cheeks. " Now, as for the reports, you're not very good at putting important vital details on a small scroll, because you write big and have a hard time explaining things. You normally leave things out if you don't think that they are important enough to be mentioned. "

" Bah! " Naruto childishly said and turned his face to the side then upward with his hands crossed over his chest, not liking Kakashi's response.

" And I'm pretty sure Sasuke would rather some one else like Hinata-chan deal with both matters since she's trusted to do a good job. "

' _Which is true. _' Sasuke thought.

" That's why I never put you two to be in charge of the mission when I'm not there with you three. " Kakashi smiled knowingly. " Hinata-chan is perfectly capable to take care of you two and the mission. " Kakashi's smile grew to 'playful' as his right hand was brought back on top of Hinata's head, in a 'ruffling' fashion, causing the young Hyuuga to blush at the 'childish affection'.

This time Sasuke did roll his eyes but managed to suppress a groan.

" Um... Heeeeeey... Kakashi-sensei... I just realised something... Shouldn't we like... be talking about this mission... away from the gate and in a secluded room? I mean... what if an Akatsuki member is watching and hearing us right now? They'll know we're planning a spy mission. " Naruto blinked in confusion.

Kakashi's visable eye closed as he and Sasuke both sighed. Hinata suppressed a giggle. " Naruto-kun, we're in a light genjutsu right now. If people walk past us, or see or hear us, they'll see and hear a totally different conversation about the sole mission in Candoglia Village. The genjutsu is light enough to where no one will be able to tell that what they are seeing is a genjutsu, and only certain people of Konoha's Special Forces can feel it. "

" Ohhhh... "

" Dumb ass. Could you not feel the chakra that's around us? What if one of our enemies used this sort of genjutsu against you? You wouldn't be able to notice the difference, and end up giving away vital information about your self, us, or the village, thinking who ever was in the genjutsu with you was your friend and not foe! " Sasuke spat out.

" Sasuke. " Hinata tried to make her voice sound stern, but it only sounded disapproving. " Its not his fault he didn't know about the genjutsu, no one told him about it. And he's not supposed to feel the genjutsu. No one is. Only people with strong chakra control can feel the small amount of chakra that's put into these kind of genjutsu's, and not alot people in Konoha are actually able to have the chakra control needed to feel it's light charka usage. "

He sighed. Sasuke didn't argue back. He knew better then to. Because he knew she was right. But still. How did Naruto expect to become Hokage if he had such weak chakra control? And, Sasuke hated it when Hinata would defend Naruto like that. Not because he was jealous or any thing, but because Naruto would always get this happy grin and childishly stick his tongue out at him, just because Hinata 'yelled' at him in her own way. Sighing, Sasuke ignored Naruto's childish gestures and turned back to Kakashi. " Is _that_ it? Can we go now? "

" Ah well, yes. Just remember, avoid combat at all costs, keep a low profile, and don't make any trouble for Hinata-chan like you two did last time you three were on a mission like this. " Both Naruto and Sasuke looked away from Kakashi's gaze. " The damage to the inn was so bad, poor Hinata-chan had to pay for the damages out of her own pockets and clean up the mess, and to also be able to let you three still stay at the inn with out blowing your mission. "

" It wasn't my fault, Kakashi-sensi. Stupid Sasuke-teme was hogging up the bath room by **playing with him self**! " Naruto yelled out the last part. He was still angry that Sauske was hogging the bath room when he really had to pee badly.

Sasuke's head snapped towards Naruto. A mixture of angry, mad, and a little hint embarrassment was found in his facial features. " For the last time, you fucking idiot, I was not playing with my self. " Sasuke lowly hissed out the last part.

As much time as she's spent with Kiba back when they were still genin, and the last 2 years she's spent going on special missions with Naruto and Sasuke, Hinata still wasn't use to guys talking about such things. It was really only Kiba and Naruto who talked like that around her. When they were still a team, Shino would constantly keep reminding Kiba that Hinata was a shy girl who was uncomfortable when people (mainly guys) talked about sex. And thankfully Sasuke did the same thing when ever Naruto started talking like this, or about some _dreams_he had. Though Sasuke was more harsher on Naruto then Shino was on Kiba. Shino used logic to make Kiba stop about his sex drives, while Sasuke used a little logic, then his fists to make Naruto shut up. Hinata's eyes darted away from the three guys she was in front of, not wanting to see a male right now while a conversation was going on about Sasuke... playing with him self. A dark red covered her cheeks.

" Yes you was too! After Hinata-chan was finished taking her shower, you rushed in there even though you knew I had to tinkle really really baddly! Then you wouldn't get out! "

" That doesn't mean I was playing with my self, you fucking dumb ass! " Sasuke finally shouted out, not able to keep his anger in check. " I was just taking a shower! I know how to control my sex drives way better then you! Just because you play with your self every time you go to the bath room, **doesn't mean every other guy does**!! "

Naruto's face reddened. " I do not play with my self every time I go to the bath room, Teme! Take that back! "

" No, since you're so hell bent on saying I was playing with my self that night! "

" Because you was! "

" Now, now you two. " Kakashi stepped in between Sasuke and Naruto, just in time to make Sasuke stop the chakra flow to his eyes to activate his sharnigan. " This is exactly what I'm talking about. I hate to do this, but Tsunade-sama told me to tell you two that if you two cause Hinata-chan any trouble on this mission, she'll send you two on 2 months worth of D-missions together. " Kakashi blinked at the two boys before continuing. " And also that you can't get Hinata-chan to lie for you two because she is terrible at lying to people she respects. " He said as if he was reading their minds.

Hinata's blush started to fade away once Kakashi intervened between Sasuke and Naruto, until Kakashi said what Tsunade said about her not being a good liar to people she actually respects. Her blush came back. It was true. She could lie to every one just fine. With her Father, the Elder Hyuuga's, basically every one in her family (except for Neji of course), she can keep a straight face when she lies, and they won't pick it up. This, of course, she learned from Sasuke as well. But as usual, the old part of her that actually cares about other people, won't let her lie to people she likes, and respects. At least, not good anyways.

Naruto and Sasuke both groaned and rolled their eyes, meaning they both would 'behave'.

" Now then, I suggest you three be on your way. Remember, follow instructions, don't talk about the mission out loud, keep to your selves, and don't make any trouble for the villages and/or Hinata-chan. " Kakashi waved once before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Naruto groaned. " Ugh... that guy... I swear man. "

Sighing, Sasuke picked up his pack and tossed it on top of the cart. " We better get going before it gets even later. " Sasuke made his way to the back of the cart then pulled himself on it, letting his back lay on the carts wooden surface, his hands crossed behind his head, and his legs barely dangling off of the cart, his feet almost touching the ground.

" Oi, oi, oi, OI! What the hell are you doing, Sasuke-teme?! " Naruto started to shake the cart, hoping to knock off Sasuke.

" Well since you're pushing the cart, I figured me and Hinata could go ahead and get on so if something goes down even before we reach LimeStone Village, all three of us won't be tired. Don't you think that's a good idea, Hinata? " Sasuke closed his eyes knowing Hinata would agree with him. This was also part of 'their plan'. And since Hinata would agree with him, Naruto would think it would be a good idea, since he always thinks Hinata's idea's are good.

Hinata bit the inside of her bottom lip before replying. " Yes, t-that is a good idea. " Boy she hated lying to Naruto. But at least he wasn't _that _good at reading people when they were lying, like Sasuke, Kakashi or Tsunade.

" Huh? Well... I guess it is a good idea... I would of let you on it anyways, Hinata-chan. As for stupid Sasuke, " Naruto turned back to Sasuke. " You have to get off every now and then! I don't want to be carrying your lazy ass the whole way! "

Sasuke signed. " Yeah, yeah, yeah... "

* * *

The first few hours into the mission was uneventful. Hinata would activate her Byakuugan every thirty minutes, or when ever she felt things were too 'peaceful'. And of course, as usual, Naruto and Sasuke both argued about meaningless things. ' _But boys will be boys I supposed. _' Hinata giggled to her self.

" What are you gigging at now? " Sasuke said in a sigh. His posture from when he first laid on the cart changed slightly out of discomfort from being in that position for to long. Sasuke opened his right eye to look at Hinata.

Hinata lightly shook her head. " Nothing. " She looked at Sasuke over her left shoulder. " Just thinking about how childish you two are. " Hinata tried to grin but it came out as a smile when Sasuke groaned and closed his eye.

" So... " Sasuke's voice got low with a hint of seriousness. " You going to tell me what this morning was about? " Hinata's swinging legs stopped as her grip on the edge of the cart tightened. The sudden change in Hinata's aura made Sasuke open both of his eyes to look at the now quiet girl as her eyes stayed focused on the moving ground beneath her. " Its that serious, huh? "

Pale lavender eyes looked above to the over passing tree branches, squinting every now and then when the branches were gaped enough to let the light from the bright sun through. Sounds of chirping birds and Naruto's complaining voice started to fade as Neji's voice from a few hours ago filled her ears. Hinata nodded once. " I-It is... sort of... " Her words were whispered, to not let Naruto know of their conversation. Hinata gulp down the dryness in her mouth that suddenly appeared.

' _"Sort of" _'. The words echoed in Sasuke's mind. His onyx eyes stayed focused on Hinata. ' _If it has something to do with her dumb ass of a Father and him pushing her training, or if it had something to do with Clan matter's, they wouldn't of let her go on this mission and made her stay in Konoha, since 'Clan matters' are more important then the village they live in. _' Sasuke thought bitterly. ' _So I wonder what's wrong if it has her acting like this, and its just "sort of" serious. _' Sasuke pushed his upper body up to sit side-by-side with Hinata. " Well, " he started off slowly, looking for the right words to 'lighten' the mood. " when ever you can stop being your self and find the right wording, let me know. "

The seriousness and sadness in Hinata's eyes and facial features faded and was replaced with embarrassment. " Alright. " Hinata's pale pink lips curved into a smile. Even though sadden thoughts of her older sister she never got to meet was in her mind, Sasuke still managed to embarrasse her and make her smile. Of course she knew he was joking, and he wasn't trying to be rude. Sasuke was just being him self, but not wanting to show his concern, and also make her feel better at the same time.

Hinata's hand trembled slightly as she lifted it off of the cart and gently rested it on top of Sasuke's right hand. " Thank you... Sasuke. " Her cheeks were a bright red from such a bold move, though she kept eye contact with the Uchiha.

Sasuke slid his hand out from under Hinata's much smaller one, only to place it on top of hers. His long fingers curled around the palm of her hand, giving it a light squeeze. " Any time. " Sasuke smirked with his words as the color on Hinata's cheeks darkened.

" Oi! "

Hinata and Sasuke both jerked their hands away at lightening speed at Naruto's voice. What was going through Hinata's mind was ' _Please don't have noticed our hands were together, Naruto-kun! _' And Sasuke was thinking ' _If you seen and are going to make a big deal about it and end up making Hinata uncomfortable or embarrassed, so help you God, Naruto, you will not have a peaceful death. _'

" Can one of you pull the cart so I can take a break? " Naruto whined as he tossed his head back to see Hinata and Sasuke up side down looking at him.

Both Sasuke's and Hinata's posture slacked from relief that Naruto didn't notice their hands clasped together. Its not that they were trying to hide it or any thing. Just that Naruto tends to make a big deal out of every thing. " Let take a break. " Sasuke slid off of the cart and stretched. " I need a break too. This cart isn't very comfortable to sleep on. "

" Damn it, Sasuke! Why don't you just pull the cart for a bit? "

" Because I don't want to. Also we should break for a bit since it's around lunch time and I'm hungry. This will give you a chance to rest and gain your stamina back. Its a win-win. "

Naruto sighed as he ducked under the hitch that was connected to cart. " And you call me lazy. Trying to use to me to get out of saying your ass hurts from siting on it all day. " He grumbled under his breath.

Sasuke held his hand out to Hinata who shyly took his hand to help her down off of the cart. A small 'special' smirk was given to Hinata when she was right in front of Sasuke and their eyes locked in... something Sasuke was unfamiliar to for a few seconds.

" Hey! Hurry up, I'm freaking starving over here! " Naruto yelled, breaking the unknown moment between the two.

Hinata giggled while Sasuke groaned.

This was going to be a looooooong mission... Sasuke thought.

**---**

Around 8:30 pm, Sasuke once again slid off of the cart before Naruto opened his mouth.

" Alright, this is far enough for the night. " Sasuke picked up Naruto's pack only to throw it on the ground by a near by tree. He then picked up his and Hinata's pack and laid them down.

" Oi! That has my cups of ramen in it! " Naruto cried as he ran to his pack and unzipped it to check on his uncooked ramen.

" Whoops. Now then, Naruto, go find a lake and get some water or whatever. Just go do something useful. "

" 'Something useful'?! I just hauled that damned cart more then 50 miles! What the hell did you do besides sit on your ass?! "

" I kept a look out so while you were pushing the cart, no one would attack you. " Sasuke shrugged.

" Hinata-chan was doing that! "

Sasuke shrugged again. " Now go get some-- "

" You get some-- "

This was getting him no where except annoyed. " Your hands hurt, right? "

Naruto blinked in confusion. " What? "

" Your hands hurt from pushing the cart, correct? " Sasuke dead panned.

" Well... " Naruto looked down at his red hands. " Ye-- "

" Then when you're getting the water for our meals and drinking water, you can let your hands cool in the lake water. How many times do I have to remind you about that? And might I _also_ remind you, _again_, that when you rest your hands in the water, let the water still be in the river or lake, and not in the bucket of water you're bringing back. "

Naruto's face reddened. " That happened once. "

" Whatever, just go. I'll set up the tents, while Hinata gets the fire and the stuff for dinner prepared. "

Naruto ran his hands through his blond spiky hair while groaning loudly before mumbling something along the lines of 'Stupid Sasuke-teme and his stupid smart-ass logic.'

**---**

Dinner was... uneventful. Uneventful for the 3 anyways. The normal stuff happened, as always. Sasuke and Naruto argued alot about who was eatting most of the meat and leaving alot of vegetables which lead to Hinata separating each other. Which would last a grand total of 2 minutes, then it'd start up again. But thankfully Hinata was use to their bickering and arguing, and knew how to handle them... for the most part anyway.

And finally after an hour or two argument between Sasuke and Naruto about the shifts, Hinata finally found a good shift for every one. Sasuke would take the first shift of 3 hours, Hinata would take the second shift of 3 hours as well, and Naruto will take the last of 2 hours. " _Since he did push the cart the whole day. He needs his rest. _", was Hinata's logic of course. Which Sasuke didn't like, because he knew Hinata wouldn't have the heart to wake him up, and just take his shift so he could sleep.

But ' _Whatever._ _We'll end up just staying up the whole night together like always and away from that loud mouth who always interrupts us. _' Sasuke thought with a smirk as he stared at the fire that was burning brightly in the hole he dug earlier to keep the fire under control.

After a few more minutes of staring at the fire Hinata came in the clearing, carrying a white towel and a small hand bag that held her soap and other personal items.

" Welcome back. " Sasuke said as his eyes followed Hinata's movements. The yellow and orange flames dancing across his onyx eyes.

" Thanks. " She murmured as she walked placed her towel and bag in the tent she was going to sleep in, then to the other side of the camp fire where Sasuke was sitting. Taking a seat on a flat stone she found earlier for a chair. Hinata also turned her gaze upon the flames.

Silence fell between the two as both got lost in their thoughts.

" You should sleep. " Finally breaking the silence like always.

" I can't sleep right now. When I feel tired I'll go to sleep. " Was always her reply. But Sasuke knew she was going to stay up with him. Just like he always stayed up with her during her shift.

" Ah. " Was all Sasuke said before turning his gaze to Hinata. " So now can you tell me what happened? "

" Oh... well... " Hinata tucked her long side bangs behind her ears. " When I was leaving for the mission, I seen Neji-kun at the Main Hyuuga cemetary. He was paying respects to my... sister. "

" Sister? " Sasuke raised a brow in question. What would it matter if Neji was paying his respects to her sister?

Hinata nodded slowly once. " Hyuuga, Hitomi. My sister... "

Sasuke's dark onyx eyes widen as he breathed out 'Tomi-chan...'.

" What did you just say? " Hinata looked over at Sasuke with also widened eyes.

" Your sister's name is... Hitomi? " Sasuke started off slowly to see Hinata nod. " Was she the Hyuuga Heiress? "

Hinata nodded again. The frown between her brows deepening. How could Sasuke possible know Hitomi?

Sasuke turned back to the fire, not able to stare into Hinata's confused lavender eyes. " What would it matter if he was visiting her grave? " His voice held a hint of anger. ' _Is Hinata jealous of Hitomi or something? Is that why she has a problem with Neji visiting her grave_? '

" T-There is no problem with him or any one visiting her grave. I just... " Hinata kept her eyes on Sasuke's face. " I... No one ever told me her name or where she was. "

Sasuke's eyes snapped back to Hinata. " What? "

" I-I... Father never told me about her. Really about her. He told me I had a older sister was, of course, the Hyuuga Heiress. But he never told me where she was buried at, or what her name was. " This time it was Hinata who broke eye contact with Sasuke to look at the ground to hide burning sensation in her eyes. " I passed by her grave so many times, but I never... I never knew it was her's. That she was right there. I never knew... "

" Oh... " Was all Sasuke could say. So she wasn't jealous. ' _She's upset because no one ever told her about her sister. _' " Why didn't Neji or one of the Elders tell you about her? And why the hell didn't _he,_ of all people tell you about your sister? "

Hinata's hand shakingly wiped away the tears that almost fell from her eyes. " Father probably told every one to not tell me about her. And as for the reasons... Neji-kun said that he didn't want for me to become jealous of Hitomi-sama, or think I was just a _replacement _that wasn't good enough for the Title and Clan. Neji-kun also said that... Hitomi-sama was a blessing to the Hyuuga Clan to be the Heiress. "

" She was. "

" How do you know her? Can you tell me about her? I-If you don't mind me asking. "

Sasuke slightly shook his head. " You have a right to know about her. " After a few seconds of silence, he was finally able to sort all his jumbled thoughts and words. " Its been a while since I thought about her. " Sasuke started off slowly. " When we first met, it was of course at a Clan gathering between the Hyuuga's and Uchiha's. I was around 4 at the time, and Itachi... my brother along with Hitami was 12. Though, they met long before. They met when he graduated from the Academy when he was 7. Hitomi was never in the Academy since her father, Hiashi, thought she was to good to be in the Academy, but the old man Hokage passed her as Genin when she was 6. Hitomi and Itachi, along with Shisui who was Heir to the Uchiha Clan, also Itachi's best friend, were put in a special team since they were very talented shinobi. "

' Team Zero. ' Hinata mouthed. Now it all made sense why he was so tense and angry when Tsunade wanted to asign them that name.

Sasuke nodded seeing her mouth the words. " They were the very best. All three of them both made it to ANBU, and were still a team. Itachi was always the leader of their team. Shisui was his right hand, while Hitomi was Shisui's right. She kept both of them in check though. When they weren't on missions, she was the leader of the group. She always... She always knew how to make every one smile. Even Itachi, who always had on this emotionless mask on all the time, she was able to make him smile. "

The pale lips of Sasuke's smiled a small sad smile. " She once told me when Itachi and Shisui were busy with Clan matters that when she first met him, she made a challenge for her self, which was to make him smile or laugh at least once a day. She was so nice... " Sasuke whispered the last part. " Always playing or training with me when ever Itachi was to busy. Which was alot. Most of what I learned when I started off in the Academy, I learned from her. She always got me out of trouble with my dad, or Itachi. I really respected her. Even loved her... "

A sudden dull pain shot through Hinata's heart. Was she hearing correctly? Hinata never knew Sasuke would be so open about this... about his feelings. Why did he tell her that? And why did it bother her so much? It was more then 7 years ago.

" But we could of never been together. Not only was there the age difference, she was in love with some one else. "

Hinata blinked. " Itachi? "

Sasuke's eyes hardened in a small glare. " No. She was to good for him. " He spat out. " It was Shisui she was in love with. Though I don't think Itachi approved of their relationship. "

" Wait... you said Shisui-san was the Heir to the Uchiha Clan... Is that why Itachi didn't approve? Since Shisui-san and Hitomi-sama were both Heirs to Konoha's most powerful clans, Law stats Heirs could never be together. "

" No... That wasn't the reason. " Sasuke sighed at her responce. " Itachi didn't feel that Shisui was good enough for Hitomi. And no, the 'Law' didn't matter to them. Hitomi and Shisui both knew of that 'Law' that Heirs to clans can't get married or be together, so they kept their relationship hidden. "

" Itachi loved her? "

Another sigh. " I don't know. I guess. Though, the 'Law' did come up from Itachi. When Shisui's Father, the Uchiha Clan Leader, died during a mission, the power was going to be passed to Shisui, but since he was only 14 at the time, the Elder's put in a temporary Leader, which was our father. After talking with the Elder's, my dad and Itachi, Shisui went ahead and appointed full leadership over to Fuigku who agreed in a heart beat. So now Itachi was the Heir to the Clan, and Hitomi and Shisui could have a real relationship out in the open. "

" And I take it that Itachi wasn't to happy about him giving the Leadership over to your Father, and making him Heir. "

" Exactly. However, Shisui wouldn't of given the Leadership over to my father with out Itachi agreeing to it first. Even though it was his love life on the line, he would of never did any thing to put pressure on Itachi. Itachi agreed to it, since it would bring Honor to _our _family, and also make more of a name for the Uchiha since he was already the ANBU Captian. 'Just think, the Uchiha Heir is the ANBU Captain. That would show the Hyuuga's who's better.' That was my father's logic, not Itachi's. He already knew what Father was going to say before Shisui even brought it up to him. And being our father's son, he knew he had to do it, even though there was going to be major stress on him. "

" Ah... A-anou... H-how did she... die? "

Sasuke's emotionless mask slipped back into place as his posture froze.

" When I asked Neji-kun how she died... he said one word. 'Uchiha'. That was it. "

Hinata stared at Sasuke who was unmoving. A few minutes passed and still Sasuke has yet to say any thing. " Sasuke? W-What happened? "

" He killed her... Itachi killed her the night he killed all the other Uchiha's. "

" W-what? " Hinata released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

Sasuke's face dropped into his hands as he tiredly rubbed his face. " One day Shisui and Hitomi were on a mission while Itachi was dealing with Clan Matters. I don't know the details, but Hitomi and Shisui were attacked when they were coming home. Hitomi pushed Shisui out of the way from a killing blow, but she got hit in the process. Shisui brought her back to Konoha with a very small pulse. The Hyuuga's took her in to their compound, not letting any one see her while their medical staff worked on her. None of the Hyuuga's said any thing about her. If she was alright, or if she died. Some how a rumor spread that... She died right when they put her on the operating table, and that's why none of the Hyuuga's was talking. None of them was. Not your father, none of the Elder's, not even any of the Branch members. They didn't say a word when they were outside of the compound. "

" Shisui, along with Itachi tried to sneak into the compound to find out what happened. They couldn't find her. Finally, being full with guilt, Shisui commited suicide in the Uchiha Lake because he blamed himself for her death. His suicide letter was found in his room by my father. How ever... I come to find out that Itachi was the one who killed him, and just made it seem like he committed suicide. "

Tears finally fell out of the Hyuuga's eyes. " W-why would he do something like that? "

Sasuke shrugged. " Probably for revenge for Hitomi's death. Or maybe to get a special Sharingan. Maybe both. "

" Y-You said Itachi killed her... it was him who attacked them? "

" No. It turned out that Hitomi wasn't dead. Just in critical condition in another building. Last time I seen her was when she was going on her mission. I asked Itachi to help with my training, he said he had other things to do, but Hitomi on the other hand offered to help. Though the only time she got to train me was aa hour before she was going to leave on her mission. That was the last time I ever seen her. They say, on the night of the massacar, a few hours before it, Hitomi was released from the compound because she was strong enough to go out in public with a guard just in case something happened. She went straight to the Uchiha cemetery to see if Shisui really did kill him self because her father told her about what happened. I supposed... that's... when it happened... "

" The massacar... " Hinata whispered.

Sasuke slowly nodded. " Itachi never showed me how he killed her, and I never seen her body. But after Itachi fled, and the ANBU cleared out the homes and dead bodies, it was reported that her body, along with her body guard, was found near Shisui's grave. Hitomi... tried to fight back, but since she wasn't strong enough, Itachi got the best of her... "

" T-That's s-so... cruel... How can any body do such a-a horrible act like that to the people they love and grew up with? " She breathed out as more tears fell.

Sasuke let out a shaky breath. " I keep asking my self that every day, Hinata... After all these years, I'm still unable to find the answer. " Sasuke's dark onyx eyes casted up at the cloudless sky above them as he silently listened to Hinata's sorrowful sobs.

After all these years... Hinata never knew about her sister or of her death. Always knowing you had a sister, but never knowing her, or even her name. A few months after the massacar happened, and Sasuke went back to the Academy, that's when he met Hinata for the first time. The first year that passed, Sasuke hated her because she looked like the splitting image of Hitomi, only a younger version. Plus, he was still in mourning over Hitomi's death, and yet, Hinata never once looked sad, or upset at class. An imprint of a spoiled brat who didn't care about her sister, and only cared about gaining the title as Hyuuga Heiress, is what Sasuke pictured Hinata to be. But after unconsciously watching her day after day from hate and bitterness, Sasuke finally noticed that Hinata wasn't the spoiled brat he pegged her as at first. She was the total opposite of what Tomi-chan was, besides being kind to every one she met. The kind of person Hinata was, she would never wish for her sister's death, or to take the title away from her, or to even replace Hitomi.

How could he be so wrong about Hinata and judge her so harshly?

Probably because of the trust he had with Hitomi, and the betrayal he got from Itachi. He didn't want to make the same mistake to trust some one so easily like he did his brother.

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**I hope you all are ok with what's going on. Corny last part, I know. :P**

**A/N: To clear a few things up. I'm not following the actual Anime/Manga it self. Yes, Itachi, and Shisui are older then what they are in the anime, but I needed them to be older, so yeah! And if Shisui is Itachi's cousin, well... I didn't know that. I did some research on Shisui, and no one really did say they were actually cousins, that it was just rumors that they were, so I decided to make them friends and not cousins. Also, I'm not sure when Itachi graduated from the Academy and become ANBU, so I just winged it. I know its not perfect, but whatever.**

**In all honesty, I wanted to keep writing to this chapter. But since there's already 9500+ letters written to it, I decided I needed to end it. There was so much more I wanted to add, but I'll put more to that on the next chapter. And hopefully it won't take me as long to write and put out since I know what I want to write. Its just going to be hard to put the right words out. xD OH! And sorry Itachi wasn't in this chapter. o.o;;**

**If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write them! I'll be more then happy to answer them. **

**Happy Thanksgiving! (I wanted to put this out that day, but wasn't able to, my bad.)**

**From, Memorias.**


	5. Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Anime/Manga Naruto. I do however own the idea for this stories plot. Please don't steal it.**

**Authors Note: Everyone, I am so very sorry for the late update. I've been so busy with work and the crappiness that comes with life. I did not mean for this update to take so long. Almost a whole year. I'm so sorry. I promise (and I mean it this time!) I'll update waaaaaaaaaaay more often!  
**

**Reviews:**

**midnight blue08: Yes. He actually does really like Hinata.**

**Sincerly- MiSS J: Yep there's some Kakashi/Hinata going on. I love the pairing. xD And in a way, Sasuke is kind of stuck on Hitomi, but all will be explain in this chapter.**

**Metsuki no Shiroi: Thanks! Sorry again for such a late update. **

**Murasaki Shikibu: Hinata was a preemie, so she was hospitalized most of her life when Hitomi was alive. That's why she doesn't remember her, since she was too sick to do anything. And yes, Shisui died before the massacre. I decided to go with that, since it was in the anime. In chapter three, Sasuke explained that he commeted suicide, but it was really Itachi who killed him. Then a few weeks later, the massacre happened.**

**winterkaguya: Yeah, poor Hinata. Its sad that she didn't know about her sister. And of course Itachi isn't going to be a good person in her books, and she does want to... but that'll be later!**

**Estheriana: Thanks. I can't wait to see what happens either. xD **

**Emmeline Creazil: Yay for long chapters! I try to make all my chapters long. And you're welcome for mentioning you. xD Thanks for reviewing!**

**Lawliet Tenshi: I know, right? D:**

**Seraliena: Thanks very much!**

**Thanks every one for reviewing!!**

**Special Thanks To: Riayna Darkheart. For kicking my ass into gear to getting this chapter out. Sorry its just barely coming out, and not like I said I was hoping it would be.**

**Please enjoy this chapter. And also review! I'll love you forever!**

**From, Somnia.  
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" I'm sorry, sir, but you cannot go in there. It's very late, and Tsunade-sama is very busy-- " Shizune said as she she tried to push her way past the uninvited guest in hopes of stopping him before he made it to the door to the Hokage's Office, yet even with a slightly hunched back and cane present, he was still faster then her.

The uninvited man reached the office before Shizune could. He opened the door with great force, making it slam against the wall, also making a few picture frames and scrolls fall off of the walls from the impact.

Tsunade sighed from behind a folder she was reading, not even bothering to look up at the unknown man. " What are you doing here, Hiashi? "

Shizune started to spew out a few apologies to Tsunade for letting Hiashi past her desk and to the office, but she decided it would be best to let what Hiashi needed to say. She would deal with Tsunade's wrath another night... or once Hiashi leaves. Her out reached hand that was towards Hiashi's back dropped back to her side before she walked out of the office and closed the door behind her.

" What the hell is your problem? " Hiashi seethed through gritted teeth as he walked in front of Tsunade's desk.

" I really don't know. " Tsunade as she put the folder down on her desk then rubbed the bridge of her nose. " I shouldn't even been here right now. But all this damn paper work just keeps piling up, and Shizune-- "

Hiashi picked up his bamboo cane and smacked it down on top of her desk, then swung it to the right, making all of the papers, folders, and scroll be pushed off of Tsunade's desk. " You know damn well what I'm talking about. What the hell is your problem sending Hinata on such a mission?! "

Tsunade opened her eyes and stared at the Hyuuga leader's cane, then the owner of the cane. Taking notice of the weary Hyuuga eyes, and the slight curve of his back. ' _He must be really tired if he came out with a cane... and his posture is slacking... _' Tsunade's eye's narrowed. ' _And he must be really pissed to come out here like this... _'

" And not only that, but why the hell did you put her in **Team Zero**?! " The team name was said with such hatred.

Tsunade sighed again. " Hiashi, Hinata could take care of her self. "

" That is besides the point!! " Hiashi slammed his cane on the desk again, earning a hallow smacking sound. " This mission is too dangerous for her-- "

Tsunade stood up from her chair. Placing her hands on her desk, Tsunade's ruby lips opened. " Hinata is capable of taking care of her self. Not only that, but she is teamed up with Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke. I'm sure no matter what happens they will take care of her, Hiashi. "

" **Uchiha**... " Hiashi spat out in anger. " Don't get me started on the damned Uchiha. If any thing happens, that punk will probably go after his bastard of a brother. It is bad enough you are putting her in a team with the cursed Kyuubi, but teaming her up with Sasuke... An Uchiha! Need I remind you of what happened-- "

" Hiashi, Black OPS haven't seen Uchiha Itachi with the Akatsuki for the past few months. " Tsunade didn't want Hiashi to question her reasons of her matching up the three. It was best to change the subject. " You know this better than any one else since a few Hyuuga's are in the Black OPS. " Tsunade's lips made a thin like as Hiashi's eyes narrowed. " Even though its against regulations, I know they report every thing to you they know about the Akatsuki when they are on a mission about them. " Hiashi opened his mouth to protest, but Tsunade raised her right hand. " I don't care about that. You get that information for good reasons, so I will not make an investigation on you and the Hyuuga's who are enrolled with Black OPS. " Tsunade sat back down in her chair when she seen Hiashi's posture relaxed. " Now, Uchiha Itachi isn't a threat. I wouldn't of sent Hinata if there was less then 50 percent chance that Uchiha Itachi was going to be a part of the reason one of our spies went missing. "

" Any mission that is connected, or even _might_ be connected with Akatsuki is too dangerous for her. You was there with what happened with _Hitomi_. You were her doctor for Gods sake! " His words coming out as a low hiss, as if what he just said was a secret. " I do not want a repeat of what happened! " Hiashis' voice raised now as he picked up his cane a few inches up then slammed it back on the ground, a clicking sound echoed through the office. " And as long as the Akatsuki is involved, there is always a major risk of it repeating! " Hiashi did his best to cover up a few hacking coughs, only to fail.

" Hiashi, I completely understand. " Tsunade started to rub her temples. She didn't want for Hiashi's sickness getting worse and have to heal him. " But getting upset isn't going to help. Now, I give you my word that if something does happen, I'll do every thing in my power to make sure she is safe. That is the best I can do. " Her eyes were stern as they locked with Hiashis' cold, almost dead eyes.

Hiashi snorted as he turned around and started leaving the Hokage's office. " Your best... Lady Hokage, is not good enough for this village. It wasn't back then, and it isn't now. Nor will it ever be. " Hiashi slammed the door behind him, making a few more pictures and scrolls fall off of the walls.

Tsunade sighed as she leaned back in her chair. Eyes closed, she reached over to the intercom button that was located on her desk and pressed it. " Shizune, I need a drin-- "

" I'll be right up with a bottle, Tsunade-sama. " Shizune's voice came crackling through the intercom before Tsunade could finish.

" Good. " Her hand dropped back to her side. " I hope to God that the Akatsuki are not apart of the mission... I would not hear the end of it from that old fool Hiashi. " Tsunade said to her self as she walked to the side of her desk to pick up the scattered papers and folders that held information about various missions and village matters. Every day more and more papers, and scrolls needed her signature, or simply for her to look over them. Tsunade sighed when more then half the papers she picked up where status reports about missions, and decease. So many deaths happened every day. Though Konoha was no longer at war with the Sand, and settled _some _of their problems with Cloud and Rock, the shinobi rate in Konoha was dropping. And dropping fast.

The Konoha shinobi were still dying at a fast and scary rate. Not only that, but many of the older shinobi would talk their children out of becoming shinobi for the Leaf. Missions were a deadly thing, so, of course no parent would want to send their child into such a world. So there was becoming less and less joining's at the academy, and even lesser challenges to becoming a Genin. ' _But beggars can't be choosers. You have to deal with what you have, and try to deal with it the best possible way... _' Tsunade though sadly as she stopped gathering papers when her eyes unwillingly started reading a mission report and request from one of the newer Genin teams. Signed and reported from their Sensei.

' The C Ranked Mission was a failure. 0.1 miles from Lord Omen and Princess Rains' home land, the Village Hidden Inside the Wind, we were ambushed by Rogue Thief Ninja. Four Men with the power and skills of Jounin stature, and two women of at least ANBU skill. Both Lord Omen and Princess Rain were killed by both females by a suffocation genjutsu. Meno Kinga, and Reno Kinga, were also killed in action by one of the male Jounin rogues. Without being able to finish the mission, and not leave with the all three Genin alive, we retreated. Nalari Trigo was badly wounded. Her ingeries were not able to heal correctly, and died only a few hours later in Seed village located 5 miles from Konoha.

Having lost all three Genin subordinates from this mission, I am requesting a short leave of absence.

Sincerely, Ozium Valak. 

Rank, Jounin, Status, Previous Leader to Team Four.'

Tsunade stood up from her crouching position and place the papers in her hands on her desk. Taking a pen out from a near by pencil holder, she wrote her signature and agreement to the leave of absence on the previous report she just read.

Being a shinobi was such a cruel fate... Having three Genin... only 12 years of age taken by rare bad luck. The mission was suppose to be simple. Escort the Lord and his daughter back to their village. Nothing else, nothing more. They weren't being targeted by any one. The Lord just wanted a little bit of protection to make sure his daughter would have peace of mind and would be safe. What were the odds that there would be a group of highly trained and powerful rogue thief ninja around? Ozium Valak, their sensei, was a powerful Jounin. But under the circumstances, he was unable to protect two people who knew absolutely nothing of fighting or self defense, and three genin, who just barely started working on chakra control. It was shocking that he even survived.

" Tsunade-sama! " Shizune came into the room panting, slightly bent over with her right hand on her knee, and the left still clutching the door knob. " Terrible news! Veronia-san has been found dead in her apartment. "

" What happened? " Tsunade's back straightened from the news. One of her personal assistants, one of her favorite. She always sneaked in imported sake when Shizune was off duty...

" She slipped in the shower and hit her head on the tub faucet. The hit didn't kill her, only made her unconscious. How ever, when she landed in the bath tub, her hair clogged the drain. And since the water was still turned on, the bath tub filled up and she drowned. " Shizune took a breath. " We would of never known of her death for weeks since she was taking a few weeks off for personal matters, but since the shower _was_ left running, all of the water was used up in the building, the Super Attendant pin-pointed what apartment the water was leaking out of, and went to her room to check on what the problem was, and he found Veronia-san... " Shizune cleared her throat from its tightening feeling. " Sakura-san is currently working on the autopsy. "

Tsunade sighed again, for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. Maybe if Veronia was a shinobi, even at least to genin status, she might of had better balance and caught her self before she fell and hit her head. ' _Then again... life it self is cruel... _'

* * *

" Something doesn't add up. " Sasuke said after a few minutes when Hinata's sobs died down. " How did you not know about your sister? When you joined the Academy, you were around 9. Your sister died when you were 8 or so. "

Hinata wiped the dried tears away from her face with her jackets sleeve. " I-I was a... preemie. Something went wrong with the pregnancy, and I was born 2 months earlier then what I was supposed to. I... I was in intensive care for the first 8 years of my life. I was never able to leave the outside walls of the hospital room I was being kept in. " Hinata lightly shook her head. " I might of met her once... maybe more. But I-I can't remember though... I really have no memory of being in the hospital. "

Hinata pulled up a few blades of grass and blew them out of her hand. " The doctors told me that being under the stress and strain of being hooked up to so many machines constantly at such a young age, I would make my self forget every thing, so I wouldn't remember the pain. A-A few months after the m-massacre is when I was finally strong enough to be released from the hospital, and by that time... Hitomi-sama... "

" I'm sorry. " Sasuke whispered quickly. The words leaving a weird taste in his mouth. Half hoping she heard, and half hoping she didn't.

The Hyuuga softly shook her head. " Its not your fault, Sasuke-- "

" Not about that. " His onyx eyes glanced at Hinata for a second before returning back to the starry sky. " I hated you. "

Hinata's red veined eyes widened. " W-what? " Did she hear correctly? If so, that was kind of random and... hurtful...

" When you first came to the Academy... Months after her death and I went back to the Academy, you joined shortly after. I hated you. I couldn't understand... how I was still grieving over her death, and yet... you never seemed sad at the fact that your sister died just a few months ago. " His voice was void of any emotion, though his words sounded awkward.

Hinata stayed quiet as she listened to Sasuke's words. Thinking back to her Academy days, she would of never guessed he felt that way towards her. When she first joined, he didn't talk to her, just glared. But then again, no one ever talked to her when she first joined since she was the 'New Kid', and she was the Heiress to one of the most powerful clans, so of course the kids stayed away from her. Hinata just brushed off the glares as him doing that to all of the girls, and also the fact that her Clan was the only powerful Clan in Konoha once again...

" In my mind, I figured you didn't care about her death, that's why I never seen you cry or look sad. I thought you was happy that she died, since she would be out of the way, and you would gain her Title as Heiress to the Clan. I also hated you for the fact that you looked exactly like her. But the main reason _why _I hated you, was because after Hitomi's death, your so called '_Clan' _went into a grieving period of a whole month, then started focusing on making you Heiress. To me, it seemed like they just threw away all of the memories of Hitomi, and forgot her to make room for you. As if you were Hitomi's replacement. "

' _Replacement. _' The word echoed in Hinata's head as she frowned. Neji said the exact same thing... That that was the reason Hiashi never told her about Hitomi, her sister.

" But after watching you as the months went by, I learned that you were weren't the kind of person to wish death upon any one. Especially your own sister. But I still couldn't understand why you didn't look at all sad. But then I just brushed it off since I never once seen you with Hitomi, or heard her talk about you. I just figured maybe your father kept you two away from each other for some unknown reason. "

" T-That is something he would do... " Hinata said referring to her relationship with Hanabi. Hiashi always praised Hanabi over the simplest things, and always pitted the sister's against each other, to the point where they didn't want to be around one another. The constant competition weighing heavily upon both sister's shoulders were to much to handle for either sister. ' _I wonder... _' Hinata thought. ' _If Hitomi-sama was still alive, and was already the Leader of the Clan, would things be different? Would we actually be able to be sister's, and not just people related by blood? Would she have changed the Clan for the better? Or would she of kept things the same...? The way the Clan and my father wanted? _'

" So for my sudden and harsh judgment I placed upon you back in the Academy, I'm sorry. " Sasuke clenched his hands when he said 'I'm sorry'. Being an Uchiha, having killed countless people, ranking one of the top assassin's in the Bingo Book, was trained personally under one of the great Sannin, Orochimaru, seen and heard things even the greatest of shinobi Konoha, or any other Great Nation has never had the pleasure of dreaming such horrid nightmares, and being _himself,_ its not easy to say those 2 simple words. Especially to a girl...

A fresh batch of warm tears feel from the Hyuuga's eyes as she chocked out a sob mixed with laughter. Why the tears came? Hinata had no idea. " Sasuke... Don't be sorry. " She shook her head slowly. " Its completely understandable... about how you felt. You loved Hitomi-sama... she was an important person to you, so its understandable how you would feel when that important person's sister doesn't seem sad or upset over her death. I don't blame you. I would of felt the same way. " Hinata smiled as an unknown impulse made her reached her hand out and placed it on top of Sasuke's head. Always seeing her father do such a personal and loving gesture to Hanabi when ever she did a good job on her training or a mission, made Hinata want to try it on Sasuke.

Sasuke blinked at sudden gesture. Hitomi use to do that to him all the time... His eyes took in Hinata's appearance, while she took in his. The way her indigo hair slightly danced in the light breeze of midnight wind. The light lavender in her moon stone eyes. The curves of her lips, and the pale pink color. And of course, her pale skin. Sasuke barely noticed the Hyuuga's hand slowly going down the side of his face and resting on his shoulder. Her eyes lids slowly dropping in a half lidded state.

It was then, that Sasuke finally realized that Hinata looked exactly like Hitomi, and nothing like her at the same time. That Hinata was exactly like Hitomi, but nothing like her... How that was even possible? Sasuke had no idea. But as moon stone and onyx eyes stayed locked with each other until both sets of eyes closed at the same time, with slowly rising heart rates with every passing second, and both Hyuuga, and Uchiha leaned into each other until their lips were pressed up against each other, Sasuke knew that the girl he was kissing, wasn't Hitomi. He _knew _the girl he's kissing is Hinata. If any little part of his mind wished, hoped or thought that it was Hitomi he was kissing, or was _going_ to kiss, he wouldn't of. That wouldn't of been fair to either one of them. Especially unfair to Hinata.

Though... Sasuke knew he was in fact being _unfair_ when once their lips touched, he used his lightening speed and reflexes to dominate the small girl and push her on to the ground with him hovering over her. Though she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed to welcome it, _literally_ with open arms, as she pulled Sasuke on top of her.

The dull 'thump' of them landing on the ground echoed around their little camp, making Naruto stir in his sleep. Out of respect of Hinata, Sasuke pulled away from Hinata's embrace and lips and glanced at blond who fell asleep on the ground by the fire, before making it to his tent.

Naruto turned on his right side, his back facing them, with his right arm bent on the ground to cushion his head, while his left hand slid into his shirt, scratching his chest. " No Ero-sennin... I don't want to do that jutsu for your stupid book... its awkward... " Naruto said before his mouth smacked a few times then completely falling back asleep.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in annoyance on the blond before turning back to Hinata. If he was any one else, his eyes would of widened when he noticed Hinata's pale eyes never left his face once he pulled away. ' _I would of thought she'd blush and pull away from me once the dumb ass started moving... ' _Sasuke thought before Hinata's arms looped around his neck and brought him back down to her and her waiting lips, shocking the Uchiha even more, though he wasn't complaining.

But since Hinata's bold moves were quite shocking and out of character, the Uchiha couldn't help but question in his mind where this side of Hinata came from. He was well aware that she was still a virgin, only been kissed once or twice from Kiba, and once from Naruto (Which happened during a mission. Hinata and Naruto needed to act like they were a couple, much to Sasuke dislike, since he had to play her older brother). And Sasuke knew that since Hinata was a shy girl, with only a few innocent lip kisses, Hinata wouldn't be so bold as to pull him back down, wanting more. Or maybe he just had her all wrong. Maybe she really wasn't so shy and innocent. ' _At least when it comes to this anyways_. ' Sasuke thought as his hand started to slowly trail its way up Hinata's left side, his thumb grazing over the side of her breast, making Hinata shiver though the touch was over her clothes, she could still feel his warmth.

Suddenly it wasn't enough. She wanted to feel his bare skin pressed against her own. And the feeling was starting to scare her. Her mind was screaming that she was a virgin, and shouldn't be wanting such a thing, but her bodies scream drowned out her minds screamed, and turned them into whispers. Hinata's right hand slipped through the opening of Sasuke's shirt, her finger tips traced the dips and creases of his chest, while her other set of fingers twisted in the Uchiha's jet black hair. Sasuke pulled Hinata closer to him as his tongue licked across her lips. The Uchihas' hand cupped Hinata's cheek, bringing her a bit closer to his mouth so his tongue could slip into the small gap between her lips.

Hinata whimpered when their tongues touched. Their tongues wrapped together in a heated kiss. Hinata's hand slid down to Sasuke's tie wrapped around his waist. Her hand gripped one of the ends of the ties, and started pulling it, giving the waist band of the Uchiha's pants a little slack, and in that short moment, Sasuke was off of Hinata, with his back pressed up against the nearest tree, and his chest heaving heavily from panting.

Rolling on her stomach, Hinata looked up at Sasuke. Licking her swollen lips, she started talking. " W-What's wrong, Sasuke? Did I-I do something wrong? That I wasn't s-suppose to? "

" No... " Sasuke ranked a hand through his messy hair with a frustrated sigh. " No... You didn't. Trust me, you did every thing right. "

" S-so then... " Hinata sat up on her knees, her legs tucked under her. " W-why did you... ? "

' Why did I, indeed? ' He thought while holding in another sigh. " Look... you... Fuck... " Sasuke mumbled to him self while raking his hair again. ' _How to explain_? ' " You wouldn't of forgave your self if you... we continued... With Naruto being right there, and being on a mission, and... Its just a bad idea. "

" Oh... " Her eyes looked down to her fisted hand that had more then a few strands of Sasuke's hair wrapped around her fingers. ' Must of ripped them out when he pulled away so fast... ' " S-Sorry... "

Sasuke gritted his teeth, his eyes closed. '_ Why'd I stop again? Oh yeah... So she wouldn't regret what we did, and hate her self and I for it._ ' " Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong. "

" But I made you-- "

" You didn't make me do any thing I didn't want to do. " He cut her off quickly. Though wishing he didn't once the words left his mouth.

Hinata's eyes snapped up to his black ones, a blush coating her cheeks. So is he saying he wanted to...?

" I just.. " Sasuke looked away from her white eyes. " Don't think now is a good time. " Boy did he feel awkward talking like this... He was Uchiha Sasuke, damnit! He didn't get embarrassed over such things. Nor did he even talk about the current subject, or any where near the subject at hand.

" I-I understand. " Hinata looked back down to the ground, embarrassment written all over her face. ' I can't believe I just... I started un-doing his... ' Her face burned red. '_ Stupid hormones_... '

" You should get some rest before your shift starts. I don't want my teammates to be tired tomorrow when we get into ----. " Sasuke said in a mono voice, trying his hardest to set her mind at ease about the whole thing, and focus more on the mission.

She raised her eyes to him again. " R-Right. Wake me up t-this time! " Hinata got up and dusted the dirt and dried leaves off her self.

" Yeah, yeah. Will do. " Sasuke said while getting up from his position by the tree to sit on the stone he was sitting on a few moments ago, then closed his eyes.

Hinata walked back to her tent and started pulling the flap up to get in, but stopped. " Promise? " Her soft voice whispered through the small camp sight.

Sasuke opened his left eye to look at the Hyuuga's profile. The outline of her body lit up by the fire. ' Why did I stop again? ' " Promise. " With a smile, Hinata nodded and whispered a good night to the Uchiha before disappearing into her tent. Dark onyx eyes looked up to the starry night once he seen the Hyuugas' form disappear. " Promise...? "

* * *

_" Tomi-chan! " The little boys mouth was in a shape of a small 'o'. " You don't have to... "_

_" Of course I do, Ducky-kun! " Hitomi ruffled up the boys hair in a playful manner with a grin on her face._

_" Tomi-chan... I told you not to call me that any more... " Sasuke looked down at the ground in embarrassment. The tip of his sandle digging into the dirt._

_" Sorry, Sasuke-kun. I just can't help my self. You're too cute! " She hugged him tightly. " I promise I'll stop, ok? " Hitomi said as she pulled away from Sasuke._

_Sasuke looked up at Hitomi. " Promise? "_

_" Promise. " Her grin became wider. " Now, since Shisui and I are going on a mission in the early morning, and we're going to be busy with the plans and what not all day today, the only time I'll have to train you is an hour before I leave. So that'll be around 5am. Will that be ok? I'll get there a bit earlier, since we have to get to the training grounds, then after I train you, I have to leave for the main gates right away. "_

_His eyes widened with excitement as his little hands balled into fists in front of him. " That'll be fine! But... Can you wake me up? I would set the alarm, but every one would hear it and wake up... " Sasuke's words drifted off._

_" Yes, I'll wake you up. Just make sure you go to bed early tonight, ok? I don't want you to be tired while I'm training you, or else everything I try to teach you will be for nothing. " Her head tilted to the side._

_" I will! I'll eat dinner really fast then go straight to bed! " Sasuke grinned in excitement._

_" Whoa now, you don't have to go to bed that soon. Plus you don't want to get your parents suspicious. " Hitomi winked with a smile._

_Sasuke nodded in understanding. " Right. Good thinking... "_

_Hitomi stood up and patted Sasuke head in the process. " I need to get going now. I'll see you later, ok? "_

_" Alright, Tomi-chan. " Sasuke watched as she started walking away from his and the Uchiha manor. " Don't be late, ok? " He called out to her._

_Hitomi stopped walking and turned a little to look back at Sasuke with a small grin. " I won't. "_

_With a light pink tint covering his cheeks, he spoke again. " Promise? "_

_Her smile and eyes became softer, and with a nod, she spoke. " Promise. "_

* * *

Beige cloth was the first thing the Hyuuga Heiress seen when she opened her sleepy eyes, and smelt the smell of cooked fish. Hiding a yawn with her hand, Hinata sat up before rubbing her eyes. " What t-time is it? " Looking back up, Hinata finally took notice of the bright sun shining through the tent. Gasping, Hinata quickly pulled her pack up onto her lap and ruffled through for a new pair of black capri pants, a form fitting black shirt, and a new pack of wrapping bandages for her chest. Once she was dressed, Hinata quickly unzipped the tent opening, and stumbled out in her haste. Her eyes scanning the area till she found the dark Uchiha. " Y-You promised you'd wake me up! "

" Good morning to you, too. " Sasuke did his best to keep a smirk down when she almost fell out of her tent.

" S-Sasuke! I'm being serious here. "

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. " It slipped my mind. " Leaning forward a little, Sasuke picked up one of the sticks that had cooked fish squired through it. " Wake up every villages' idiot . We need hurry up and eat so we can get on our way. " Sasuke took a bite out of his fish. " Oh, and you might want to brush your hair first. " This time he let his smirk show.

Hinata's face burned in embarrassment before she ducked back into her tent to brush her hair. ' That's what I forgot to do! ' Her hands patted down her messy indigo hair, in a vain attempt to flatten it out. Thoughts of the previous night with Sasuke played before her eyes. Hinata's busy hands slowed down to drop to her lap, only to raise her right hand back up to her lips. ' I can still feel his lips... and his hands... ' A shiver ran down her spin as she tipped her head forward, letting her hair curtain her red face from... Well no one was in her tent with her, she knew that. But she felt like she had to hide her face. ' Stop thinking about last night... ' She lightly patted her burning cheeks before going through her pack for her brush. Seeing that her hair was perfectly straight once again, from her reflection from a kunai knife, Hinata slipped her brush and kunai back into her back pack before leaving her tent again.

" Welcome back. " Sasuke said while throwing the stick that held his fish away behind him.

" T-Thanks. " Curious Hyuuga eyes looked over the camp site. " Where's Naruto-kun? D-Didn't he fall asleep out here last night? "

Sasuke rotated his shoulders a few times. " Dumb ass was sleeping so close to the fire, he accidentally rolled into it. " Sasuke grabbed another fish and lightly threw it at Hinata, which she caught with some difficulty, since she was worried about Naruto. " I don't see how you didn't wake up from his screaming. You must of been knocked out pretty good. "

Hinata looked down at the fish with some guilt. " I-I didn't hear him. I'm sorry. "

" What are you apologizing for? Not like it was your fault. " Sasuke shrugged. " Besides, he didn't get burned... badly. And his screaming wasn't from the fire, either. It was from your... white cream stuff... that you always use. "

" I-Its not that bad... " Hinata bit into her fish, a little hurt. No one ever wanted to use it when they were wounded. The medicine wasn't _that _bad. It healed mostly everything up fast, thanks to the Hyuuga's special herb garden. Sure it did hurt a little, but its mainly just fighting off infections and burning medical chakra into the wound to make it heal much faster.

" Tch, whatever you say, Hinata. Anyways, go wake him up. He's over slept long enough. I want to get to Lime-Stone Village before sundown. " Sasuke's eyes followed Hinata's every movement as she went to Naruto's tent, and lightly tapped at the entrance. ' _Well at least she isn't acting weird about last night... Where did all of that come from, anyways? _' He stood up once a groggy Naruto came stumbling out of his tent, much like Hinata did just a few moments ago. ' _My team mates are ididot..._ ' Sasuke thought to himself while he started getting his tent knocked down and his things together.

* * *

" Hey Hinata-chan. Did you send out the bird already? "

Hinata didn't take her eyes off the bright blue sky, barely hearing Naruto's words. " Yes, I did, Naruto-kun. I did last night after we ate. I'll send one again later tonight. "

" Oh... Ok then. " Naruto moved his sweaty palms on a different part of the handle. Looking back, he sighed. " Sasuke-teme needs to wake up. I'm tired of always pulling his lazy ass. " He grumbled.

" Naruto-kun, Sasuke stayed up all last night, watching over the camp. He didn't want to wake you or me up, so we could get our sleep. Sasuke-kun isn't that bad of a guy, really. He was just looking after us. " Hinata lightly scolded Naruto.

" Oh... " Naruto looked back down at Sasuke. " I didn't know... " He looked forward as he continued pulling the cart. " I still say he's a teme... "

Hinata giggled. " I know, Naruto-kun. You say that every time. " Her eyes moved from Narutos' bright blond hair, down to the sleeping Uchiha. Last night was a really random and weird. One moment he was admitting that he hated her, the next they were making out! Her hands reached up to cup her burning cheeks. ' _Where did that come from? I was the one who was pushing it... I didn't care if Naruto-kun was there, only a few feet away sleeping! I... grabbed at his tie and... _' Hinatas' hands moved to cover up her now red face. Her head shaking. '_ What brought that on? _'

A harsh bump in the road brought Hinata out of her musings, as well as woke Sasuke up. Sitting up while rubbing the new bump on the back of his head, Sasuke glared back at Naruto. " Good job, dumb ass. Nice control of the cart. "

Naruto dropped the handle bar to the cart as he turned around to face the pissed off Uchiha. " Hey! Its not my fault that there was a big rock in the road! "

" Ever heard of moving around it?! " Sasuke slid off the now stopped cart.

" This cart is heavy enough with out having dead weight like you on it, so its hard to move it! I'm _SO_ sorry I woke the princess up from her beauty sleep! " Naruto yelled the last words out loud in a childish manner. Hinata half expected him to stick his tongue out and blow a raspberry, while pulling the skin under his eye down.

This was getting no where fast. Hinata clapped her hands a few times. " Now children, don't make me seperate you two. Remember, I have to report _every thing _to Hokage-sama. "

The sudden harsh words from Tsunade echoed through both Naruto and Sasuke's minds as they both froze. ' **_I__'ll make the both of you go on D-rank mission's for a whole month with out Hinata there to hold your hands!_**'

" Bah! Fiiiine. "

Sighing, Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. " Yes, _mother_. " He childishly glared at the smiling Hinata.

Hinata leaned forward with her hands behind her back. " Good boys. " Clapping her hands together one more time, she got an idea. " How about a snack, for my two good boys? " Another grin, but came out as a smile.

" Yeah! " Naruto jumped at the word 'snack'. Sasuke sighed. ' _Idiot... _'

----

" Hey, is everything alright with Hinata-chan? " Naruto asked while finishing up his last sweet rice ball.

" She just said she wanted some time to her self. Probably to get away from all the stupid radiating off of you. " Sasuke said, still annoyed he got woken up from his nap by the dumb ass.

" Sasuke! I'm being serious here! " Blue eyes looked back to see if they caught view of the female Hyuuga. " She never spaces out when she knows she has to get ready for a mission. Remember yesterday when she walked right past us and through the gate? And she was late. You know she's always the first one there... "

" ...She just has some things on her mind, ok? She said she'll catch up soon. Haven't you ever wanted to be by your self to just think about things? That is if you can think. "

Naruto stuck his tongue out. " But Hinata usually-- "

" Naruto, Hinata isn't super woman. Her life isn't perfect. Her family puts her through hell to see if she'll make a good heiress to the Hyuuga clan, which almost all of her so called family would like nothing more than to rip her apart so she couldn't be the heiress. " Sasuke got quiet for a moment. " You were there durning the Chunin exams. I wasn't, but Sakura told me about Hinata's fight with Neji. How he beat the crap out of her. That's how its like for her, every single day at her home. Except they don't use fists. They use words. I'm sure you more then any one know what that's like. "

' _I never thought of it like that before... Where fist and cuts can heal with time, words can't... They take longer to heal... _' Naruto closed his eyes. How could he be such a fool to think that everything in her life could be sunshine and rainbows, just because that's how she is most of the time.

" She's been through a lot. And every one expects her to be happy every waking moment of the day. Doesn't she deserve a least a little bit of time to let her mask down? Again, you more then any one should know about this. " Sasuke knew that that wasn't what she was thinking soley about. She was probably thinking about her sister, Hitomi. And maybe even about what happened last night...

Looking down at the dirt road, guilt started to build within Naruto. His down casted eyes moved back behind him, hoping to see Hinatas' bright smile.

-----

' _Hitomi... Hitomi... Why didn't any one tell me about you? _' Hinata stared down at the road and flash's of her dreams of Hitomi came into her mind. ' _Tomi-chan... That's what he called her... Why do I have dreams about her? About her and her team? I shouldn't dream these things! This just doesn't make sense... _'

**_Flash Back._**

_" Hanabi...? "_

_" Hm? " A young Hanabi mumbled while brushing her dolls hair. It was a secret gift from Hinata when she became genin, and started doing D-rank missions. Hiashi never allowed such pathetic things like 'toys' into his house. 'I don't want any Hyuuga child to be spoiled. We are a proud clan.' is what their father said. So the doll had to be hidden. Not in their house, of course. No. She had to hide it at the Hyuuga temple. Where her father would send both her and Hinata almost every day to pray for strenght, and pray for the Hyuuga. Which was usually spent with them two goofing off. She always wanted a doll. But she couldn't ask for one. She knew better. When Hinata surprised her with it a few months ago for her birthday, it was the first time she ever gave Hinata a hug. It was the first time she smiled with joy. It was the first time she felt like a little girl. Over a simple doll._

_" Have you ever... " Hinata trailed off as her busy hands continued to sew a small dress for Hanabi's doll._

_" Ever? "_

_Hinata put the little dress down on her lap as she looked up at her younger sister. " Have you ever... d-dreamed of a woman that k-kind of looks like me? But older... by a few years. Maybe 5 or 6 years. "_

_" That's more then a few, Ata-chan. " Hanabi grinned as she poked Hinata's side, earning a small yelp. Hanabi stuck out her tongue childishly.  
_

_Hinata fought down her blush as she rubbed her side. " F-Fine. " Hinata also stuck her tongue out. " But really... I've been having these dreams about her... "_

_" Could she be mom? " Hanabi asked with a tilt of her head. " The pictures I've seen before with mother in them, she's looked kind of like you. " Hanabi put the little brush down._

_" I-I suppose... But she's... young. I've dreamed about her and her teammates... Have you ever had the same dreams? "_

_" Mmm... " Hanabi started moving the dolls arms around. " A few times. But most of them are... of us. The family... Wait... " Hanabi's eyes widened as she looked up at Hinata. " I do remember having a few dreams of some one young who looks like you! I barely remember, but I do! "_

_Thankfulness was the only thing Hinata could fell. She wasn't going crazy after all!_

_" What can you remember? Was she our mother? Or some one different? " Hinata asked hastily.  
_

_" Mmm... " Hanabi bit the tip of her thumb nail in thought. " These dreams I had were... years ago. Like when I was 3 or 4 years old. " She looked down at the wooden floor, her eyes scanning over the grain. " In the dream... I felt like I knew her. Like... she was... an older sister... Some one to look up to. " Hanabi looked up at Hinata as soon as the words left her mouth. " N-not that I don't look up to you! "_

_Hinata bit her bottom lip. " I-I know, Abi-chan. You... You don't think she could be... "_

_" Her? " Hanabi asked in a whisper. 'She' was a taboo subject. Even in the temple, where they spent more of their time goofing off, knowing that no one would see or hear them, they couldn't be allowed to speak of their elder sister._

_Hinata gulped and nodded._

_Hanabi bit her thumb nail once again. " Maybe... " she started out in a hush tone of voice. Her eyes locked onto her older sisters eyes. " But... How was it that you were able to dream or remember her, since you were in the hospital? "_

_**End of Flash Back.**_

How indeed, was she dreaming these things? If she was right, in thinking that the girl who's been in her dreams, and the group as well, was Hitomi and her team mates, how was it that she was dreaming about them? Detailed dreams of them on a few missions flashed before her eyes. But how was that even possible? Squeezing her eyes closed tight, Neji's voice sprung in her ears.

' _**The Hyuuga Heiress... Your sister. **_'

Hinata never met her. So why? Why was she having these dreams?

_'_**_ When you were born, you were sheltered away from every thing, because you were born 2 months before your due date. You were so weak, so you never got to know her. _**'

Even if she _did _meet her before, how was it she was able to dream such detailed things? Perhaps it was just wishful dreaming? Having never seen her sister before, maybe she wanted to see her so bad she dreamed her? And to dream of her team? Dream of Itachi?

' **_Your father, my uncle, didn't want to bring up painful memories, since Hitomi-sama was a blessing to the Hyuuga name. She was everything this Clan needed. Hiashi-sama didn't want you to feel as if you were just a replacement. You're lucky he even told you you had an older sister._** '

How is that lucky? When every one else was able to meet her... to know her, yet she wasn't able to?

' **_You're such a slow poke, Hitomi. _**'

Heavy breathing was the only noise that surrounded Hinata, yet she didn't hear it.

' **_I knew you were busy, so I wanted to go ahead and get this over with so you wouldn't have to deal with it. _**'

Why did you leave?

' **_Oh, did I? _**'

Why did you leave me?

' **_I'm sorry. Its just we've been real busy with the clan and all... _**'

Hitomi...

' **_Tomi-chan! _**'

' **_Tomi-chan... _**'

' **_Hitomi..?_** '

Her legs long since stopped moving. Dropping down to her knees, Hinata's arms reached up to grip her throbbing head. All these voices were making her head pound. As if her mind was going on over load.

' **_Don't be late, ok? _**'

Painful tears ran down her reddened cheeks.

'**_ Promise? _**'

Tears poured down to the ground. Her forehead now pressed against the dirt road. Gasps of air wasn't enough to calm down the burning from her lungs. ' _Damn... I'm hyperven... _' Sudden Hinata became that everything around her stopped, and that she wasn't alone.

With a final gasp of air, Hinata looked up in front of her. Her heart rate doubled from the dark figure in front of her.

Light moonstone eyes locked with dark ruby red eyes.

" Hello... Hyuuga Hinata. "

' **_Promise. _**'

* * *

**AN: Toootally stole that second to last line from one of the last episodes of Dexter. .**

**Hope this chapter was ok! Took me, literally FOREVER to get it out, as I'm sure you all very well know. Wasn't exactly how I wanted this chapter to go, but... Its out. No big deal, what ever. (From Bruno). Anyways! Please review! And again, I'm so very sorry it took me like... a year to get this out. n.n;;  
**


	6. Taken

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Anime/Manga Naruto. I do how ever own the idea for this FanFiction. So no takey!**

**Oh me gee, I know its been a while since I last updated. But to be bluntly honest, I had this chapter written for more then a month now. I've just been too lazy to beta and fix my mistakes. Soooo my apologizes on that. **

**As promise, I added more ItachixHinata, though not much. Next chapter though, I promise!**

**Review Replies-**

**Kazo_Sakamari: Hehe, thanks! I'm a big fan of SasukexHinata, so I'll try to add more of them later.**

**xoxo_RiCEbUNnY_xoxo: Haha, sorry again about that. =P I promise it won't take that long to update again.**

**winterkaguya: She was. Or Hitomi tried to be. Their mother did too, but that all and much more about Itachi and Shisui will be explain in later chapters.**

**pinay-of-series: Thank you!**

**midnight_blue08: xD There's so much going on, huh? Its about to get even more confusing! **

**Getsurenka/Yuzuki0429: Thanks. Shisui is an Uchiha. But like Hinata, he has different hair color then the rest of the clan. I promise that'll be explained later.**

**xlady_hinatax: It was Itachi. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**KagomeMarie: Thank you! Here's a new chapter for ya.**

**nwyd: Haha, it'll be a ItachixHinataxSasuke, I promise.**

**Anyways, here's the start of the newest chapter. Please read and review!**

**From, Somnia.**

**

* * *

**

_**Last chapter,**_

_Tears poured down to the ground. Her forehead now pressed against the dirt road. Gasps of air wasn't enough to calm down the burning from her lungs. ' Damn... I'm hyperven... ' Sudden Hinata became aware that everything around her stopped, and that she wasn't alone._

_With a final gasp of air, Hinata looked up in front of her. Her heart rate doubled from the dark figure in front of her._

_Light moonstone eyes locked with dark ruby red eyes._

_" Hello... Hyuuga Hinata. "_

' **_Promise. _**'

* * *

Hinata's breath got caught in her throat as she stared into the eyes of Uchiha Itachi. She's seen his face in many bingo books. Seen different fliers for his capture or kill in almost every village she's been in. Plus she's seen him in her dreams more then she'd like. Of course, she never knew it was actually him, since when his face would start to show, she'd wake up. But to actually be here, _right in front_ of _him_, the _Uchiha Itachi_, Hinata couldn't help but stare. Her teacher's voice started ringing in her head, as she remembered what she told her when she was just starting out as a genin. It was one of the first lessons Kerunai gave her.

_" This is an important lesson kids, so listen up. " Her three genin students stopped their little chit-chat about their training with each other to focus on their teacher. Kurenai's red eyes looked over her students. " You three have the title of Genin. Which means you are no longer children in the eyes of the village. If a war were the break out, right this very moment, you three would be thrown into that war, because everyone would rely on you to protect the village and it's people. " She paused to see them nod. " And even though the village no longer see's you as kids, doesn't mean that you three aren't kids. By law, now that you have a ninja status, means you aren't a child, and legally are an adult. But to the eyes of every one in this village, the civilians, you still are a kid. Now I know its scary. I know there's a part in the back of your mind that's whispering that you won't be able to deal with certain things that will arise in your life, because you only own the title and skills of genin. But that will pass as the years go by. Now, the lesson is, which no matter what your status is, to never let your guard down. "_

_Kiba scoffed. " We're not idiots, sensei. That was the first lesson back at the academy! Its elementary! " He said with a wave of his hand.  
_

_" Kiba! " Her voice was harsh, getting a hold of Kiba's attention. " Of course its the first lesson they teach back at the academy! But every one, **every one** needs to remember this! I wouldn't be wasting my breathe if I thought you didn't need to know this. Do not back talk or question me again, Kiba! " Kurenai's red eyes were smoldering upon Kiba._

_" S-Sorry, sensei. " Kiba looked down in embarrassment.  
_

_" Now, as I was saying. " Her eyes left Kiba to stare at Hinata and Shino. " Never let your guard down. Even if you are part of ANBU and out on a simple walk outside of Konoha. Never drop your guard because you have no idea what or who could be lurking around. Always check your surroundings. If you are on a mission, no matter rank it is, never leave your self open. "_

"_I am an idiot! I did the one thing that sensei told us not to do! I left my self open! _" Hinata's legs wanted to move, to make her crawl backwards. Far away from this man in front of her. " _How am I going to get out of this?! _" Her mind shouted as it started going into over load, trying to find a way out of this current situation.

After a few moments of Itachi and Hinata just staring at each other, the silent was broken. " Do you know who I am? " Itachi's voice, though soft and quiet, was heard clearly through out the little path they were in.

_" Another important lesson is, never, no matter how scared you are, is let your enemy know it. Do not shake and never show fear. "_ Kurenai's words echoed in her mind.

" _Don't shake, and don't show fear. _" Hinata reminded herself. Standing on suddenly strong legs that wished to do nothing more then to collapse, she held her posture proudly. With a nod, she spoke. " Uchiha Itachi. " Her voice, also wanted nothing more then to stutter and tremble, yet she refused to do such a weak thing in front of him. This was the man who killed her elder sister. She never got a chance to meet Hitomi because of him.

No, she wouldn't show fear, never to him.

Itachi nodded with a small smirk.

Hinata closed her eyes in a blink. When they opened, she was looking right at the brown dirt on the ground, her forehead resting on the cool dirt. Her head snapped up, in search for the Uchiha. Only thing where Itachi 'stood' at was a crow. Its beady black eyes staring straight at her. The crow cawed an annoyed nasal caw at her with a tilt of its head, startling her further.

" _D-Did he hit me? No... I would of felt it. _" Quickly activating her blood-limit, she scanned the area for Itachi. When there was no sight of him, her byakugan fell from her eyes before looking up at the sky. " _It's still early... Which means I wasn't knocked out. Sasuke and Naruto are still continuing up ahead... If I was gone for a while, either they wouldn't of been in range of my byakugan, or, they would of came looking for me... so... what happened...? Itachi was here... right? _" Standing slowly on wobbly legs, Hinata gulped, trying to get rid of the sudden dryness in her mouth, and glanced around slowly. " _T-This was the spot I stopped at... My head started hurting real bad, so I fell... here... Was it just a dream? _" Hinata rubbed her forehead tiredly before she turned her byakugan on once more to make sure she didn't miss anything. The crow was still there looking at her. " _This isn't right... I could of sworn he was right here! He talked to me! " _Her eyes landed back on Sasuke and Naruto, who stopped just moments ago. " _They're probably wondering why I'm taking so long... _" Hinata almost sighed in relief when she noticed that they only stopped because they were arguing with each other. " _Oh thank god... I should hurry before they do worry though, or worse, kill each other._ "

Another caw came from the crow as it started flapping its wings, catchings Hinata's attention once again. Hinata stared at it, taking in its appearance and details. " _No... Could this... be Itachi? I've heard that shinobis often change into animals and birds... But its chakra signature is... like any other crow... "_ Suddenly another caw was heard from off in the distance. The crow in front of her started flapping its wings a few more times before taking flight in the direction of where the distant caw was heard.

Slow steps were taken at first. Something didn't seem right... All she knew, was she wanted to get to Sasuke and Naruto, as quickly as she possibly could. No, she _needed_ to get back to them. If Itachi _was_ here, it wouldn't be safe to be alone. Dashing off in a sprint, Hinata looked back at where she thought she seen Itachi a few moments ago. Nothing. No sign that he was ever there. No sign of foot prints, no traces of chakra floating around... nothing... Just a few raven feathers that had a few ribbons of green, blue and purple swirled around together. Hinata's legs moved faster, a sudden need to get back to her teammates filled her chest.

" I'm just worried about her! "

" Naruto, leave her the fuck alone! She's a big girl, she knows how to take care of her self! "

" But I-- "

" If you take one step backwards, I swear to fucking god I'm murdering you. " Sasuke hissed as he continued forward. He knew Hinata wanted her privacy, but it was simply the fact that Naruto wasn't listening to him that was pissing him off, and wanting him to stay in place. The blond idiot never listened to him! When ever Hinata, or any one else (besides Kiba and Ino) told him something, that was the end of it, he listened and never once talked back. A sudden flare of chakra flashed behind his eyes. Sasuke's movement stopped before he turned slightly to see who was using the chakra. His charcoal eyes landed on a running Hyuuga Heiress. Her speed faster then what it should of been just to simply 'catch up' with them. Something was wrong... His eyes narrowed. A deep inhale of air made his eyes flicker next to him.

" Hinata-chaaaaaan! " Naruto yelled out, with his hands cupping around his mouth to make his words, if possible, louder. He then started waving his hands and arms frantically, as if she couldn't see or hear him. " Oiiiiii! "

" I'm sure people in Konoha can hear you, dumb ass. You don't need to be so loud. " Sasuke muttered through tight lips.

" Shut up, teme! " The blond hissed back through the corner of his mouth.

Hinata slowed her pace down to a light jog. " S-sorry, I took s-so long to catch back up with y-you guys. " She said through pants for breath once she was in front of them.

" Its ok, Hinata-chan! " Naruto beamed with a grin. " Take all the time you need! "

Sasuke suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at the blond, while the Heiress nervously chuckled. " T-Thanks, Naruto-kun, but it's not-- "

" No need to thank me, Hinata-chan! If you want, me and Sasuke-teme can run up ahead so you can be by your self some more. " Naruto grabbed the front of Sasukes' shirt and started pulling him along with the cart. " Come on, teme. Lets let her have some more time to her self! "

Sasuke slapped Naruto's hand away. " Stop it, dumb ass. She wouldn't of came back yet if she wanted more time to her self. " He said in an angry tone as he tried to fix his now stretched collar of his shirt. ' _Wasn't he just saying he wished she'd come back? Now he's saying we should give her more time! I swear he's bipolar! _' Sasuke pulled on his collar a little too hard, further stretching it. ' _Any way to make him look like a good guy in front of every one. _'

" Really, i-it's fine, Naruto-kun. " Hinata said as she shifted her weight from one foot to the next, her arms linked together behind her back. " W-we should try getting to the village b-before the night, like Sasuke wanted us to. "

" Right! Let's go! " Naruto turned back to the carts handle and started pushing it, leaving Sasuke to scoff and Hinata to smile nervously at Naruto's random antics. One minute he's hell bent on doing something, the next he completely forgets about it. Hinata's light lavender eyes roamed over to Sasuke, catching his attention instantly. Her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she asked him a silent question with her eyes.

He quickly shook his head, knowing what she was asking him. ' _Did you tell him about Hitomi? Or what happened last night between us?_ '

" No. " He muttered just as quickly. Sasuke was almost offended that she would think he would talk about either of those things. Especially to the loud mouth blond. But he understood. Naruto was acting as if he did tell him something. Well, technically he did, but it wasn't about Hitomi or what he and Hinata did.

Hinata moved to walk past Sasuke, but Sasuke quickly grabbed her wrist in a tight grip. " What happen? " The question was short and blunt.

" W-What? " She blinked in confusion.

" What happened? " He asked again.

" I-I don't understand-- "

" Don't lie to me. You look panicked when you came here. You didn't need to add that much chakra to get here. I'm well aware that you activated your byakugan one or two times, so you knew how far away we were. And if that isn't enough as it is, you aren't even keeping eye contact with me. " He pulled her wrist a little harder to get her attention. " Now what happened? "

Hinata relaxed in a slacking, defeated posture. Her wrist going limp in his hold. " Sasuke... " Hinata's light lavender eyes traced over Sasuke's pale face. His features... so much like his brother's. She closed her eyes tight, only to reopen them a second later. The burn of blood red eyes was the cause. " You don't... It's nothing... Just please... this one time... let me... let me keep this one to my self... please... "

Sasuke's dark eyes took in her pleading expression. Her eyes still not looking directly at him. He released his hold on her wrist, letting it fall back to her side. " Fine. " Sasuke's voice mono-toned.

She flinched at his single word and voice. He was upset with her. Though he would never admit it because he was too proud, he was hurt and offended. Even though many people say 'The great Uchiha Sasuke, the Demon spawn', isn't capable of feeling pain or is able to be "hurt", he very much can. He just doesn't show it. So in a way, Hinata felt like she betrayed his trust in her. But she had to keep what happened to her self. Even if Itachi really wasn't there...

" I'm sorry... " Hinata gave him a weak smile before jogging a bit to catch up with the complaining Naruto.

" Well Hinata-chan? "

Silence.

" Hinata-chan? "

More silence.

" Helloooooo?! " Naruto finally had to get in her face to snap her out of her little trance.

" W-What? " Hinata blinked her pale eyes a few times.

" I asked if you know what I should do about Sakura-chan. " He peered at her. " You ok? "

" O-Oh... Sorry... must of spaced out. " She gave him a soft smile. " Well Naruto-kun... I-I think it'd be best if you just... ignore Sakura-chan. Girls -- for some reason -- " she mumbled under her breath quietly. " g-go after the guy who ignores them. L-look at Sasuke-kun. He ignores every girl in Konoha, and yet, he s-still gets their attention. "

A horrible sounding snort was heard behind the blond and midnight blue pair. " And it isn't wanted, nor welcomed. " He said in a disgusted tone of voice.

" You're wrong, Hinata-chan. " Naruto ignored Sasuke. He grinned as he started to dip his head backwards, his back also starting to bend backwards as well, in an awkward/painful looking position. His legs still moving forward, and blue eyes sharp, as they stared brightly and teasingly at Sasuke. " He doesn't ignore _all_ the girls. " His grin becoming wider with each word.

Sasuke glared at Naruto for his stupid antics. " You need to stop watching your back, _Naruto._ Or you're going to get hurt. " He muttered darkly.

" Ohhh I'm so scared! 'You need to watch your back or you're going to get hurt.' " Naruto matched Sasuke's tone of voice before laughing loudly.

" Naruto--! "

" WHOOOOOAAA! " The cart started rolling down a hill at fast speed, making Naruto tumble down with it since he had his hands in a death grip on the handle.

Hinata made a move to try and either pull Naruto away from the cart before he and the cart took off down the hill, or grab him while they were going down the hill, but Sasuke grabbed her dark blue hair in a tug, halting her movements. Hinata looked back at him in question. " He'll never learn if_ mommy_ is always holding his hand. " He said harshly, making her flinch again.

Once Naruto landed in a messy tangle of arms, legs, boards, and wheels inside a giant dirt cloud.

" If you payed attention to what I actually said, Naruto, I said 'You need to **stop watching your back**. Or you're **going** to get hurt.' " Sasuke's smug voice was heard in Naruto's ringing ears. " I gave you fair warning. You can't say I didn't. " Naruto could practically _hear_ the smirk.

" But you didn't warn me about the hill! " The now bruised and dirty blond yelled from under the ruined cart.

" But I didn't say I was going to be the one to hurt you. Not my fault you miss-interpreted what I said. Besides, you would think the 'All-mighty-Naruto', who is going to be 'Hokage' one day would of noticed the hill. Or got away from the cart. "

Hinata made her way to Naruto while they were arguing with each other, and started helping him up out of the rubble before he even thought to get up.

" Well you could of-- "

" Enough of that. The village is right there. " Sasuke said, interrupting Naruto from further arguing. It was his way of making his word final. " Leave the... cart and lets go. "

" But-- "

" As punishment for breaking the cart, you'll carry our bags, and pay for it with the money out of your pocket. "

Hinata gaped. Carts were expensive. They only carried pocket change, not nearly enough to buy one. And their funds for food and the hotel room had its limit, too. " Sasuke, it was an accident-- "

" Or you can make a new one tomorrow. It'll be less the cost, but you'll have to finish it tomorrow, since we got here a day early. " He called out, keeping his eyes upon the small village in the distance. So that was the place where Akatsuki was rumored to last be at, hm?

" Sasuke... " Hinata said in that disappointed voice she uses when her two teammates get in a childish fight.

Sasuke clicked his tongue, as he started walking down the winding road that circled around the hill, that lead safely to the village. " You two better hurry. I don't want all the good rooms to be gone. "

Naruto pulled a splinter that was sticking out of his arm. " Man, I really hate that guy some times. "

The trio walked in silence as they entered the village. Hinata, found Sasuke's 'punishment' on Naruto was cruel, so she took her back-pack, and Sasuke's pack (after arguing with Naruto about it) as well. Which ended up with Naruto talking smack to Sasuke about being a lazy ass-hole, which in turn made Sasuke hit Naruto across his head before snatching his pack from Hinatas' arms. Each one of them taking notice of the stares they were getting from the village. Mother's would usher their kids inside a random building they were walking near if the three ninja were coming their way. Not so hushed murmurs of whispers were spread all around them.

" _Do you think they're here because of the murders?_ "

" _Doubt it. Or else they would of sent some one sooner. Who ever 'they' are, and why they would._ "

" _I heard they're just here for a mission to get some stones for a merchant in their village. _"

Similar little gossips was heard all their way to the hotel. The small team gave each other a glance in confusion. Sasuke's and Hinata's eyes caught a glance at a small restaurant mixed home that was leading down a narrow rode. A few broken windows were boarded up with ply wood, big bold red letters were spray painted on them "**KEEP OUT. Police Scene**". The sharpness, and advance of their eyes from their special abilities caught the blood stains on the window sills, and door frame. Sasuke turned towards Hinata, their eyes locked in understanding. That was Urons' place.

Despite the awkwardness, and odd behavior they were receiving from the village people, the village it self wasn't that bad. Not too over run with tourist shops, and enough nice little restaurants that was great for families wanting to spend time together, without having the food be cooked in an almost instant, like Konoha was littered with. Ninjas' needed to be able to get a quick meal before going on a mission, which was why ramen was so popular. Naruto just loved it because the people were nice, and the meal was cheap.

After spending about ten or fifteen minutes searching for the hotel, they finally found it, almost in a small corner of the village. But before finding the hotel, they came across another small looking house, which windows were also boarded up, the same lettering sprayed painted on the boards, just like from that little restaurant from earlier. Naruto whistled lowly as they entered the hotel.

" What do you mean I have to share a room with Sasuke?! I don't want to share a room with Sasuke! " Naruto yelled out loud towards the ceiling.

" Could of fooled me with that first comment of yours. " Sasuke muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Naruto growled. " I heard that! "

Hinata wrung her hands around their bundle of money. " W-well, Naruto-kun, we only have enough money for two rooms, so... " Her words drifted off into silence, hoping Naruto would understand. In the back of her mind, she knew she shouldn't get her hopes up. Every time they went on long term missions like this, it was always the same. Hinata had no problem sharing a room with them. It was just that the rooms usually only had two beds, so they (Naruto and Sasuke) would argue over the beds. It was a given that Hinata would get a bed, since she was a girl (Which she argued on that. It wasn't right for her to get a bed automatically just because she was a girl. That wasn't fair in her eyes. And to this very day, Sakura, TenTen and Ino give her crap for). And she wouldn't mind sharing a room with one of the guys while the other got a room to their self. But again, when Naruto would say he was going to share a room with Hinata, Sasuke would call him a pervert. When Sasuke would say he would share a room with her, Naruto would say _he_ was a pervert, so she might as well just take a room for her self, and let the two of them deal with sharing a room.

" But he-- "

In an instant, the tip of Sasuke's katana was presses harshly against Naruto's spine. " _Don't you dare bring up that bathroom incident again._ " Sasuke muttered through clenched teeth. Luckily for them, Sasuke was standing right behind Naruto, so the inn-keeper didn't notice Sasuke pull his sword out. With the way the villagers are already treating them, it wouldn't be a good thing for one of them to see that.

A sweat bead slid down Narutos' neck, falling in the shadows of his clothes. " H-He needs his o-own room. " Naruto visibly gulped as soon as the sword was removed from his back. He was sure that, A), his jacket and shirt was ripped, and B), the tip of the blade pierced his skin, making him bleed.

" Well its ok. Your rooms will be side by side, so just unlock the door that joins the rooms together, so you three can enter and exit each others rooms with ease. " The inn-keeper gave a key to Hinata, then handed one to Naruto, only to have Sasuke snatch the key from the owner's hand, making Naruto pout. He never got to hold onto the keys! Of course, that only was because every time he got a hold of them he ended up losing them.

" Neshu-San, if you don't mind me asking, " Hinata bowed slightly. " our cart got busted up on the way over here from Konoha, so we need to make a new one. Can you tell me where we can find a Lumbar shop at? "

Neshu rubbed his chin for a few seconds. " Ah, yes. There's a small little lumbar shop just a few streets down. Right before the shopping district. I'll draw you a map right quick. "

" Thank you very much. " She bowed again. " And if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you also write down instructions on how to get to a few tool shops that rent out their tools? "

Pulling out a sheet of paper from underneath the counter he was standing behind, Neshu pulled out a near by pen once he was standing straight again. " You're here for those glow in the dark stones, huh? For Seki Lana? "

" Yes, sir. It appears she's running low. " It was best to let Hinata do all the talking. Naruto would just ramble on about meaningless things, and Sasuke would pull attitudes and berate everyone he talked to.

" Yeah, that'd be her. " He mumbled. " She just had another team come here not that long ago. I guess they're very popular there in uh... "

" Konoha. "

" Yeah, Konoha. " Neshu grunted out. " I don't think you're familiar around these parts, since I have never seen either of your faces here before, or in general for that matter, I'll go ahead and draw a map out on how to get there. The spot where people usually go to get them is running a bit low, so there's a new location anyways, even if you have been there before. " Neshu finished writing out his instructions on how to get to the lumbar and tool shops. " Should take you a few days to get the cart fixed and get the right tools ready. I'll have the map ready for you by the time you get everything prepared. " Folding the piece of paper in half, he handed it to Hinata.

Hinata bowed once more. " Thank you very much, for everything, Neshu-san. You've been a big help. "

" Don't mention it. " Neshu said in a gruff voice. Pulling out a thin warn book from below the counter, Neshu flipped through a few of the pages before started writing something on the guest log. " Now will you three be joining us for dinner, or are you going to eat out? "

Hinata turned to look at her comrades in question.

" What's going to be served? " Naruto asked, hoping, _praying_ that it would be ramen.

" White rice and fish. " Was his short reply.

Naruto blanched. " We'll be eating out. "

Sasuke resisted the urge to elbow him. There was nothing wrong with the meal. As long as it was something to eat, and wasn't poisoned, it was fine.

" Kinda figured that. I went ahead and wrote down a few small shops that's pretty good, and quick to get their orders out, too. Is there anything else I can help you with then? "

" No, that will be all. Thanks, Neshu-san. "

Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto started to head to their rooms up a flight of stairs. Once they found the doors with their numbers on it, the trio stopped, Hinata activated her byakugan and searched their rooms first before scanning the rest of the hotel. With a slight nod, both Hinata and Sasuke pushed their keys into the key hole and unlocked the door. Even though Hinata gave the 'a-ok' on the rooms, force of habit kicked in, making Sasuke activate his own blood limit and check the room for any slight movement, traps, or genjutsu. Once 100 percent satisfied that the room was safe and secure, Sasuke threw his bag on a bed closest to the wall leading to Hinatas room, then went and unlocked the door adjacent to Hinata's room, who was already unlocking her door.

" My window has near p-perfect view of the small house we just passed. It'll be easy to keep an eye on it, and sneak into it at night, while some one stays and k-keeps a look out. "

" Right. " Sasuke walked into her room and moved towards the window. Pressing his back against the wall that's further away from the house, he peered out at it. Now he could get a better look and analyze it. If he were to stop and stare at it in the open, people might get suspicious as to why they really were there. Sasuke noticed the village people stayed cleared from the house. At least a good 20 feet. He remembered hearing about this village before. The people here believed that if you associate your self with some one who had one of their family members died or a friend, death will float around that person, and transfer onto you.

Sasuke lightly sucked on his teeth, earning a low 'tch' sound. People were such dumb asses some times. No, scratch that. People are dumb asses all of the time.

Studying the house a little closer, he could tell it wasn't just some thief's breaking in, and killed the family to make sure no one could tell who robbed them. No, this was work of a ninja. A highly skilled one at that. The house gave nothing away. It was just a simple house that was probably only taken care of by a single person, who had a few kids. No one that could be threat worthy. The way the shinobi got in was probably from a window or the back door if there was one. The occasional smashed in window was just a way of leaving a note. Saying 'We were here. Look at what we've done.'

" So what's the hub-bub, bub? " Naruto asked as he jumped and landed on Hinata's bed, making him self right at home on her bed.

" The place doesn't seem to be guarded, and every one seems to be steering clear around it. Should be a cinch to break into later tonight when everyone is asleep. " Sasuke finally turned and looked at his two teammates. " Naruto and I will go and search the place, Hinata you keep a look out with your byakugan for any thing suspicious looking, or if anyone is coming, so you two make sure you have your headsets out and ready on channel 3.6 by tonight. " Hinata and Naruto nodded. " Now, Neshu said that the lumbar shop is a little away from the shopping district of the village, and if I am correct, the restaurant we passed earlier should be around that area. Since Naruto broke the cart, we'll go to the lumbar shop and 'accidentally take the wrong turn', so we can get a better look at the restaurant, and see if there's a place where we can stake out the restaurant to see if there's an easy way to get in. "

Naruto groaned loudly before jumping off the bed. " Anyway to make me fix the cart, eh? " He muttered through the side of his mouth.

" While passing it off as being part of our mission, yes. " Sasuke said in a flat-voice.

" So its a good thing I'm such a klutz! " He said grining before smacking Sasuke's back rather harshly in a 'friendly fashion', making Hinata giggle.

" Hardly. " Sasuke elbowed Naruto in the gut, just as hard, which barely fazed Naruto.

" So w-what am I going to do? "

"You'll stay here and... do girl things. Just make it seem like we're not here for a mission other than getting the stones. If you take a bath or go to the hot springs, people might relax a little bit. "

" R-right... "

" And if you can, try to find anything out about what happened. If you go to the hot springs or sauna you might over hear some gossip or rumors, or whatever civilians do. "

Hinata almost smiled. That was his way of saying 'Take a break, you look stressed.' He'd say something along the lines of that when she would have a problem with her family, or from missions, or just looked plain tired. Even now though he was mad at her, he was still looking after her. Her heart started thumping painfully.

Naruto started laughing. " Civilians aren't the only one's to gossip. Don't you remember spending missions with Sakura and Ino? "

" It doesn't matter. " Sasuke grunted out in irritation. " Just try to get information any way you can without being suspicious about it. "

Hinata nodded. " Will do. "

Sasuke grabbed the back of Naruto's collar. " Let's go. " Pulling Naruto along with him as he talked.

" W-wait! Why are we going back to our room? Can't we just leave through Hinata's door? "

" I don't want you to forget your money like you did last time, and the time before that. "

" Oh... right... " Naruto chuckled sheepishly.

Once Hinata heard their door click shut, she activated her byakugan to make sure they were gone. Seeing that they were both down the hall, and now going down the stairs, she allowed her tense body to finally relax, and fall to the floor on her knees. The weight of everything that happened finally came crashing down on her. It was horrible having to keep a happy face on the whole time after that incident. What the hell even happened today? That wasn't a dream. A genjutsu maybe? No... she would of sensed it, no matter how powerful he is. What ever it was, she had to make sure to keep a better look out on things around here.

Standing on shaky legs, Hinata moved to her pack and rummaged through it until she found a new set of clothes so she could take a long soak in the bath house. She still had a mission to, even if Sasuke was taking pity on her...

* * *

_Tch. _

Damn he sure was taking his sweet time. How long had he been tracking that damned team now? Around when that pitiful excuse of a man Uron decided to double cross them? Or perhaps a little before that?

_Tch._

The lines were beginning to blur for him. What was the point of all of this? Any time he or any one else asked, they'd get the same answer. "_Its none of your concern." _All he knew was, he was getting tired of waiting. Finally pulling out one of his crow puppet scrolls, he summoned it and brought it to life with his chakra strings. Adding a little bit more chakra, the beak opened up letting out a loud nasal caw._  
_

_Tch._

After a more minutes of waiting, a near pitch black crow flew into sight, landing on the forest ground a few feet away from him. A few seconds after it landed, the crow started to grow, and transform into a crouched over human figure. The human figure stood straight, letting the black feathers fall off with each movement, revealing Uchiha Itachi.

_" What a dramatic entrance. Was that really necessary? " _Sasori thought in annoyance for having to wait. " What's this all about? " He asked once Itachi walked past the tree he was perched up on. Damn Uchiha knew he was there, yet he ignored him. Sasori didn't want to dance around the question. Blunt and upfront was the best way to go with things. That way you didn't waste any time.

Itachi kept walking, not once giving Sasori the slightlest attention.

More than annoyed, Sasori jumped off his branched, landing right in front of the Uchiha. " Forgetting something? " Sasori pulled out a small vile from the inside of his coat pocket. Inside the clear glass vile was a lightly green tinted clear liquid. " I also said, what is this all about? " His dull honey colored eyes were smoldering against Itachi's onyx eyes.

Itachi blinked and stared at the vile. " Its none of your concern. " He said in a monotone as he grabbed the vile from Sasori's cold hand.

" Oh, I think it is my concern. Especially having to go through all what I did to get that. "

" And I think it isn't. " Itachi moved to walk past Sasori but Sasori side-stepped in front of him.

" It is also my concern if Leader-sama tells me it's my concern. "

Itachi halted his movements as his eyes locked on the red head.

" What is this all for? What are you trying to use the Hyuuga girl for? Her eyes? Or her body? "

Itachi scoffed. " Don't be ridiculous, Sasori. Out of every one in Akatsuki, I would of thought you'd be the most mature, and know better than to think like that. "

" Well I'm grasping at straws here Uchiha, and I'm running out of time to tell Leader-sama why you're doing this. "

The two fell silent. Each waiting for the other to talk. Sasori's patience was running thin. He hated waiting more than anything.

" I too, am running out of time, Sasori. And that is time that I do not have to spend on these childish games. " Itachi blinked again.

" Running out of time for what? " His eyes stayed on the Uchiha.

Itachi turned silent again.

" Dammit, Itachi, I cannot help you if you do not give me any information. Now spit it out. "

Silence.

" Does this have to do with the first Hyuuga-heiress? Hitomi? "

More silence, but Itachi's eyes narrowed a little. Just barely for Sasori to catch. Sasori sighed as he turned his back to Itachi. " I'll tell Leader-sama that you are looking into the Byakugan, while trying to study the girl to see if her blood limit is strong enough to be used. " He started walking away from a still silent, and now slightly shocked Itachi, though he didn't show it. " But I expect some answers, Itachi. And do not think I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart. " He spat out. " I'm only doing this simply because I'm curious, and I respect you, as a shinobi. I'll give you till midnight tomorrow to come up with your answer, and I expect it to be the truth, or I _will_ tell Leader-sama that what I told him wasn't the truth. And he'll personally put a stop to whatever the hell it is you're planning on doing with the Hyuuga girl. " Sasori's figure disappeared into the thick and flush forest. " And trust me, that last part was his words, not my own. "

Itachi stayed still until Sasori's chakra was completely gone from his senses. _Shit... _He was really pressed for time now. He didn't have time, he had to do everything tonight. Itachi turned on his heel, and made his way to the little village that the team he was stalking earlier should be at now. Itachi stared down at the small vile in his hand as he walked.

* * *

Hinata slowly slid down into her bath tub, that was filled with nice hot steaming water. The water almost instantly relaxing her tense muscles. Tipping her head back on the tubs rim, she let her eyes wonder around the ceiling. Her mind going back to recent events that happened only a day prior.

_After what seemed like hours, Hinata finally peeled her hands away from her burning face. Her and Sasuke really... made out. Her hands went straight back to her newly flushed cheeks._

_" _Come on now... _" Hinata whispered to her self as she patted her cheeks gently. " _Its a common thing for a guy and girl to make out. Don't make such a big deal about it. " _Straightening out her hair and clothes a bit, Hinata reached into one of her jacket sleeves and pulled out a little black leather wrapped bundle that Kakashi gave her earlier that day. She almost forgot to read this. Untying the white ribbon that was wrapped around the bundle, Hinata pulled the black leather away, making a small pouch that was usually used to hold money, and a small scroll be seen. It was almost as small as one of the scrolls you'd put on a carrier bird. It was just bigger in length._

_Slowly Hinata opened the scroll. She could tell that both Tsunade and Kakashi wrote her a message each in small writing to fit everything._

_First message read-_

_" _Hinata-san, Kakashi has told me of your leadership over Naruto and Sasuke. Which means you are in charge of sending messages by carrier birds, and the like.

As you know, Akatasuki is involved with this mission. I did not wish to send Sasuke on such a mission just yet, but duty calls, and I had no one else to send. Please, keep an eye on the Uchiha. Make sure he doesn't do anything to ruin his or your reputation. If you think he might be planning something, write it down in your message. And if you think he might run, or go after Akatasuki if they are indeed involved, do not hesitate to use that special jutsu I taught you, and bring him back to Konoha.

I expect you to follow orders to the fullest, Hinata-san.

Tsunade, Hokage of Konoha. "

_The Hokage stamp was next to her name._

_Below that message was Kakashi's, it read-_

_" _Hellooo, Hinata-chan!_ " Hinata held in a giggle. Tsunade wrote such a serious note, and Kakashi was being so carefree. She kept reading. " _As I've read from the Hokage'_s _note above mine_, _I do not need to tell you to keep an eye on Sasuke. But keep an eye out for Itachi. ANBU said he hasn't been sighted with Akatsuki in a while, but they might be hiding him for some reason. If you see any sign of Itachi, or any of the Akatsuki members, write it down and send it by bird, and get the hell out of there. Do not tell Sasuke, nor Naruto. We don't want him to let anything slip out by accident.

P.s., I added some extra cash so you can have your own room. I know, I know, you don't mind sharing a room with Sasuke and Naruto, or you brought your own money, so you can buy your own room. But I wanted to do something nice for you, as a 'Thanks' for always bringing food to our training sessions.

Kakashi- "

Hinata sighed as she sunk deeper into the water, letting the water raise up just below her eyes. Did she really see Itachi? Should she write it down? It probably was just stress, from finding out about her sister, and how she died, hearing everything Sasuke said... Because if it was Itachi, wouldn't he of done something? Why would he go after her first, and just ask if she knew who he was? Didn't every one say Itachi was after Sasuke for his eyes? For what ever reason that was for... Maybe he went to see _her _because... because she was Hitomis' sister?

And even _if _she wrote it down that she seen Itachi and sent it to the Hokage, she couldn't tell them _why _they were going to abort the mission and go home. It was a lot easier said than done. Sasuke and Naruto would grill her until she broke down and told them. Then Naruto would probably do whatever he could to help Sasuke track down and find Itachi, so he could help kill him, so then he won't have to worry about Sasuke leaving again. And if that was to happen, Tsunade would find out, and punish Sasuke for betraying their secret law. He'd be sent to the underground chambers for the rest of his life.

Hinata groaned loudly, making air bubbles float up to the top of the water. No matter what she did, it'd be a lose-lose situation. For right now, she'll just keep the information to her self for a little bit longer. And if she even thinks she see's Itachi again, she'll make them go back, no matter what.

Suddenly the door to the bath house she was in opened, leaking in dull yellow light from the light bulb that hung just outside the door. Giggling was then heard.

" I know! Then she got up and ran like hell out of the shop, not even paying for all the glass dolls she broke. "

" Oh, that's so horrible, " a second voice was heard. " And so you say this was because of those three shinobi that just came to town, huh? "

" Yeah, she must of been scared out of her mind. They look harmless. That blond and raven haired guys was pretty cute. "

" I know! You think that girl is dating one of them? "

The blond hair girl scoffed. " Doubt it! Like she'd be able to land one of them. Especially the raven guy. He looked so strong and mysterious... Like he is too cool and important to be bothered by anyone. " Both girls giggled again as they took off the towels that was wrapped around their figure, and slowly eased them selves into a much larger tub than the one Hinata was in.

" He does, but you can have him. I'll go after his blond friend. He looks like he has a real good sense of humor. Some one you can just be your self around. The other guy looks like he has a stick up his ass. " She laughed when her friend splashed her with water. " Well he does, Ayva! "

" Whatever, Meko, just don't come crying to me when you can't have a serious relationship with the blond. "

Hinata almost laughed. These girls were making it seem like they were about to go out on dates with the guys, and not that they just barely seen them on the street. She could barely place their faces amungst the some what busy streets. And knowing Sasuke and Naruto, they didn't even regestier on their raidar. Naruto was probably thinking about getting something to eat, and how much of a jack ass Sasuke is, and Sasuke was probably thinking what an idiot Naruto is, and how fast he wants to get this mission over with. Though Hinata did admire the girls confidence.

Meko sighed as the hot water wrapped around her body. Silence fell on the two (since they didn't know Hinata was there in the room with them). " So... " Meko started off as she was trying to find what to say. " Do you think they're really here for a different mission? Or about the small massacure that happened? " Her words were whispered, as if saying them out loud was forbidden. It probably was in this village. Though when the Uchiha massacure happened, no one was allowed to talk about it. It wasn't even allowed to be gossip. At least, that's what Hinata heard.

Ayva stared down at the water for a few seconds before speaking. " I don't know... if they're here for the massacure, then... they're going to have trouble finding out what happened, and who did it. My uncle is in the police force, he said that who ever did it left no clues what so ever. They combed the place, and came up with nothing. Maybe these guys can find something out that the police didn't. They are trained for this kind of stuff, after all. "

" Do you think they know about Uron? "

" You mean how he was found hanging in a tree in that families back yard a few days after the massacure? "

Hinata's eyes widened a bit.

" Yeah. I mean, it was obvious that those were his kids. EVERYONE knew except for Urons' wife. Do you think he was away on business and couldn't take having his wife murdered AND his not-so-secret-family was massacured, and he couldn't stand being by himself? "

" Mmm... " Ayva bit the tip of her thumb in thought. " I don't know... I don't think Uron had the strenght to climb up that tree and hang him self. Also, Uron was a cowardly man. I don't think he'd have the balls to commit suicide."

" That's true. " Meko nodded. " Remember that one time we was at their resturant, and a spider crawled on the counter? He had to get his wife to kill it! "

" What a joke! " Both Ayva and Meko laughed. The two girls kept chatting away with each other. Topics from clothes, to guys, to their hair, to back to clothes, then their favorite eatting place.

Figuring she wasn't going to get any more valuable information about Uron and what happened, Hinata stood from her tub, gaining the attention of both Meko and Ayva. Each equally shocked. Thankfully for Hinata, she didn't take her towel off when she got in the tube, or else they would of been staring at her naking, making her even more uncomfortable. Hinata grabbed a dry towel that was hanging on the rim of the tub and wrapped it over the towel that was still on her. As Hinata started walking out of the bath house, she paused at Meko and Ayvas' tub, barely bowed with a small smile, and said " Ladies. ". With that, she finished walking out of the bath house and into the changing room to dry off, and get back into her shinobi gear.

Once she was dried and dressed, she calmly walked back to her hotel room, hoping that Sasuke and Naruto were back.

Inside the bath house, Meko and Ayva stared at the door.

" Did you know she was in here? " Ayva asked Meko.

" No I didn't... " She gasped. " Did you think she heard us? "

Ayva turned silent again. " Let's just say she didn't... "

Meko nodded. " Right. " The two sat in silence a few moments or so. " Ne... Did you see the size of her chest? "

" Let's just say we didn't... "

* * *

Naruto rummaged through his pack, trying to find a new change of clothes. " So what you're saying is, is that Uron came back and they killed him, hanging him in his other families yard? "

" T-That seems to be the case. " Hinata shifted her weight on her right leg. " What's the plan? "

Sasuke finally spoke up. " I'm guessing the Hokage doesn't know about Uron's murder. Since we're 100 percent sure that Akatsuki is involved with this, lets check out the restaurant/house that Uron and his wife lived in, and check out the house his 'secret' family lived in, to see if we can find anything on Akatsuki. I honestly doubt we'll find something at the families house, but we might as well look. Maybe Uron left some documents in some safes for collateral against them. We'll leave for Konoha in the morning. As for now, we'll continue to act like we're still here for the stones. "

Hinata almost squealed with joy. Her prayers were answered! She didn't have to worry about writing a report, or have to worry about not spilling the beans on maybe seeing Itachi. She'll wait till she got back to Konoha, to tell Tsunade (when Naruto and Sasuke were far from the Hokage build, of course) that she might of seen Itachi.

" So... dinner time? " Narutos' eyes shinned brightly.

Sasuke sighed. " Yes, Naruto. Dinner time. "

Dinner was nice. The three teammates ate outside under the bright stars. Paper lanterns were hung every which way above their heads, giving each table a nice glow of light. The small restaurant the group ate at served a mixture of foods. Fortunately for Naruto, they had ramen. But not so fortunate for him, it tasted horrible. He only had 3 bowls, instead of normal 5-6 servings he usually has. And unfortunately for Hinata, since Naruto's mouth was busy chewing food, he brought up old missions and comrades.

" S-Sai-san isn't that bad, Naruto-kun. " Hinata said, defending Sai.

Both Naruto and Sasuke snorted loudly. " Oh, please, Hinata-chan! Remember that one mission we went on to find out what happened to that loser of a prince? Where me and Sasuke had to pretend to be your body guards, and he was your fiance? "

Hinata's face burned bright red. She tried her hardest to put that out of her mind. They almost fail the mission because of her. Well, because of Sai, but who's counting?

_Everything was going smoothly. Make it seem like the Hyuuga Heiress was making peace with the Wutno clan, and learn about the disappearance of the Wutno prince. First part was done. Now they just had to find out what happened to their prince. They had a few leads. A few was rumored that the King had him locked up for disobeying him, another was because he tried to run way, another was because he tried to rat out his clans secrets to one of their rivals. Naruto and Sasuke was only able to search almost half of the property. They would of been done a whole lot sooner, if Sasuke was able to use his sharingan, but the Wutno guards were trained to sense even the smallest amount of chakra. Hinata would of used her byakugan, if it wasn't for the fact that the Wutno clan specialized in hiding things from the byakugan eyes. Hence why they were using the Hyuuga Heiress to make peace with them. The reason why Sai was posing as her fiance, was for a few reasons. One, they needed him to make sure the Wutno clan didn't try to arrange any marriages between Hinata and one of their own. Two, he posed as a third body guard for her. And three, she needed some one with her at all times, just in case. If the Wutno clan specialized in deceiving the byakugan, Hinata would be almost defenseless. So having a fiance was a perfect cover._

_The person who requested their assistance was a maid who was madly in love with the prince. She knew they could never be together. He was too stuck up to be with a lowly maid, such as her self (first part was Naruto words, last part was her words). But she wanted to make sure he was safe and ok. Its been 3 weeks since he's been gone. And the King hasn't seemed to be too concerned about his absence.  
_

_" Everything is very delicious, Wutno-sama. " Hinata said before taking a sip of tea. _

_" Only the best for my special guests and her... fiance and body guards. " Nashi cleared his throat. " Though I am a bit disappointed that you are already engaged. You would of been perfect for my son. Such a pity. "_

_Naruto choked on his food 'cause of Nashi's last sentence. 'Pity my ass.' He thought it was funny. From what he heard from the servants and towns people, the prince was a big ass-hole who thought he was god him self. Hell, he thought he was greater than a god. He also heard he was fugly to boot.  
_

_" Speaking of your son, I haven't seen Noshi-sama yet. "_

_Nashi sat down his tea cup rather harshly, make some of the liquid inside slosh out. " Ah, yes, well... Noshi-kun isn't feeling too well at the moment. He's resting in his chambers. "_

_" May I pay my respects to him? " Hinata asked with a slight tilt of her head, giving her an innocent look._

_" No. " He said hastily, earning curious looks from every one at the table. " No, he's caught a rare bug, one that could be fatal to any one who isn't used to living here in our conditions. You understand, yes? "_

_" Yes, I do, Wutno-sama. My apologies. Please pass on my best wishes onto him, the next time you see him. "_

_" Very well. " The group ate in silence once again for a few moments before Nashi cleared his throat again. " So, Sai-san, you've hardly said a word since you got here. Is there anything on your mind, hm? "_

_" Oh, my apologies. I'm just a little over whelmed with your villages beauty. " He smiled that signature fake smile, which, not-so-shockingly, fooled Nashi._

_Nashi smirked. " Yes, our village is renowned for its lush flowers and forests. I should take you on a tour of my private garden some times soon. "_

_" That will be nice. " Sais' smile became wider._

_" So if you do not mind me asking, Sai-san, what exactly drew you to Hinata-sama in the first place? Besides her good hearted nature, beautiful looks, and clan status. "_

_" Isn't it obvious? " Sai leaned over and kissed Hinata on the cheek lightly. " Its because of her huge breasts. " He smiled again at Nashi._

_Everyone, who all just magically started taking a drink of their tea at that very moment, spat it out in surprise at his rather unexpected and blunt answer. The next thing every one heard was a loud 'thud'._

_" _T-To be fair, Naruto-kun, n-no one told him what he was s-supposed to s-say... " Hinata hid her face with her hair. The group was already walking to their hotel. All of the lanterns were either being turned off now, or already were. All the little shops and stands long since closed. The streets were basically bare of humans.

" Pfft! Anything, and I mean ANYTHING would of been better than **that**! He could of said your smile, or your hair, or... ANYTHING! " Naruto snorted loudly. " I'm actually surprised he just kissed you, and didn't grab your bre--... your... woman parts, and give them a big squeeze! " Naruto made the hand gestures of squeezing something in front of him.

Sasuke scoffed. " Hn. I have to agree with Naruto here, which is surprising in it self. " Sasuke ignored Naruto who childishly stuck his tongue out at him. " Nashi was so out raged, he almost forced you to break off your engagement with Sai so you could marry a 'real gentleman'. " Sasuke scoffed again. " Then when you wouldn't, he got suspicious and almost blew our cover. "

" 'The Hyuuga-Heiress deserves to be with a real man! One who won't utter such rude words! I demand that you break your marriage contract with him immediately, or else our peace treaty is through! I will not have some one talk so low about one of my ally members! Really, do the Hyuuga have no shame?!' " Naruto yelled out while shacking a fist in the air, mimicking Nashi's voice. Naruto crossed his arms behind his head. " Really, he was over reacting. But that was a good save, Teme."

" Well some one had to say something. Hinata was passed out, you was frozen from shock with a dumb ass look on your face, and Sai just kept smiling like nothing was wrong. "

" S-Sorry about that again... " Hinata was more than embarrassed. After coming a long way from learning not to stutter in front of clients and enemies, she still managed to faint at the worst of times.

" I'm just glad Sasuke-teme said that Sai being your fiance was just a cover, and that you two were the ones really going to get married. "

" Again, some one had to do something besides faint, be frozen, and have a stupid grin on their face. Some one had to take charge. "

Naruto blew a raspberry. " Yeah, yeah. We suck, you always have to 'take charge' and save our ass. You're God, blah blah blah, we know. "

Hinata giggled. She thanked the gods every day for her and Naruto finding Sasuke that day when they were doing that simple mission. Yes, Hinata was scared out of her mind that Sasuke might kill them, (Their odds were terrible, since it was four against two) but Hinata realized, that Naruto was slowly dying. He wasn't his normal self when Sasuke was gone. As the days passed, Naruto was slowly losing his appetite, the light in his eyes was dimming, and his craziness was drifting off. So Hinata will always be grateful for Sasuke coming back to Konoha. Plus it was an upside to having Sasuke around. Hinata learned to open up more, and not be so shy. She'll admit, that when she was assigned to be Sasuke's care taker, she did (in the back of her mind) regret Sasuke being back home for the first four months. But after she got past his harsh glares, and snappy remarks, Hinata found he wasn't such a bad guy. She was able to talk to him about anything, and always get a honest answer. Sure, more than half of what he said hurt her, but at least he was being honest. When ever she asked Ino or Sakura about something, they would always sugar coat their answers.

" Whatever, dumb ass. " Sasuke said as all three of them walked into the hotel and made their way to their rooms. " Oh, and tonight, make sure you don't stay up late like you did on our last mission. I don't want you to be passed out to where I have to carry your lazy ass back to the village. " Sasuke pulled out the hotel room keys and unlocked the door.

Naruto groaned loudly, making the noise echo in the small hall they were in before walking into the room. Hinata unlocked her door as well and went in, locking it behind her. She rushed over to the door leading to Sasuke and Naruto's room to unlock it, knowing Sasuke was already unlocking their door. Once both doors were opened, Sasuke walked into Hinatas' room, to her window, and looked out at the now abandon house. " Got your mics ready? " Sasuke didn't need to look behind him to see that both Hinata and Naruto nodded while adjusting their mics in a comfortable position. " Good. " He muttered while putting on his own mic. " Here's what we're going to do, " he said as he turned around to look at his two teammates. " The streets are completely covered in shadows, so it'll be easy to get to the house without being detected. Hinata, keep watch with your byakugan. I want you reporting everything you see. Even if you see a mouse in the walls, a cat roaming the streets, or a drunk leaving a bar. Let me know. "

Hinata nodded again.

" And also search the house for any secret compartments, if you can. Once we're done with this house, we'll go to the restaurant/house complex. We found an old shrine that's basically in good distance of the building, I'm fairly certain its abandoned. If it isn't, its probably too late for any one to be there, unless they're homeless, then just cast a light genjutsu on them. "

" Right. " Hinata turned towards the houses direction and activated her byakugan. Her pale eyes scanned over the abandon house. No signs of traps, or any one hiding in the house. She then checked around the streets and a few houses around the area. Only seeing families either preparing for bed, or were already asleep. " It's clear. "

Sasuke nodded. " Lets go, Naruto. " Sasuke slid the window open, letting him and Naruto jump out of the hotel without being detected. The two quickly ran from the hotel to where the house was.

Hinata watched their movements closely. Her eyes darted to the house. " There's a back door on the left back side of the house. It doesn't seem to be as boarded up like the front door. "

" _Right._ " Came Sasuke's voice through the communicator. After they easily entered the house, they went right to work, going through each room for any clues the Akatsuki might of left. Hinata continue to follow the two with her byakugan.

" Nothing so far. A stray dog is rounding the corner to the right side of the house though. Also every one seems to be asleep. Only a few people still up eating a late dinner. " She didn't get a reply from Sasuke, then again, she wasn't expecting one. " The bars don't seem to be too packed with people. But no one seems like they're going to be leaving any time soon. "

After a few moments longer of Sasuke and Naruto searching the house and coming up with nothing, and Hinata telling them everything she seen, they moved to the restaurant/house building that Uron lived at. Hinata stealthily entered the shrine Sasuke told her about. It was no surprise that there was someone in the building. There always had to be something to make their job a little harder. Quietly she peered around a corner so she could get a good look at the one homeless man who was sound asleep with his back against one of the walls, and a almost empty bottle of some random liquor bottle held loosely in his hand. Pulling her hands together in quick signs, she whispered a few words, and the man was in an even deeper sleep.

" _Just took care of the homeless guy? _"

" Yes, I did. He should be out for a good seven hours or should. "

" _Heh, I think you just did him a favor, Hinata-chan. He shouldn't wake up with a hang over. _" Naruto said over the headset.

" _Naruto, focus! I want to get out of here before a stupid kid comes over here on a dare. _" Shortly came Sasuke voice.

" _You're no fun. _" Naruto pouted.

The guys barely got done searching the kitchen before Hinata started talking. " Stop. Some one's coming. I think he's just a drunk trying to get back home. " Naruto and Sasuke stopped their movement as they ducked down a bit, to make sure their figures weren't able to be seen through any windows. Yep, Hinata was right, he was just a drunk. He staggered along the dirt roads, trying his hardest to not fall _completely _over, and flat on his face. "_ Ow... _" Hinata thought. "_ That must of hurt._" She thought to him tripping over a bucket, and smashing his face against a pillar that held up a small balcony. " Alright, he's gone. " She said once she was sure he wasn't checking on the house, and he was far away from the restaurant/house. With that, Naruto and Sasuke continued their search.

" I don't see-- Wait... Sasuke, check the upstairs room, the first one on the right. In the floor just below the bed. I think there's a hidden compartment. "

" _Right. Naruto, stay down here and continue searching. _"

In a flash, Sasuke disappeared, only to reappear at the top of the stair case. " _First door on the right... _" Sasuke thought as he slowly opened the door and scanned the room with his blood red sharingan eyes. " _And under the bed. _" He made four quick strides to get to the bed. Crouching, Sasuke started moving the shoe boxes and other random items that was shoved under the bed. Sasuke then, as gently and quietly as he could, started to move the bed away from the wall to get better access underneath it. After a few more pulls, the bed was far enough to get to the under ground compartment. Sasuke ran his fingers cross the edges. It was hidden well. To a normal person, or even the police, they wouldn't be able to see it. It didn't look like it was opened recently. Thankfully this wasn't a shinobi village.

He wouldn't be able to pry it open with his hands. Well he could, but that would make a lot of noise, and let other people know some one was here going through this stuff. So in stead, Sasuke pulled a kunai out of the pouch that was wrapped around his thigh, and gently slid the blade down a thin crack. Pulling the handle back, the wooden lid panel lifted up, letting Sasuke grab and pull it away from the floor, revealing the paper contents that were hidden. " I think this is all that we're going to find. " He said as he picked up the papers and quickly stuffed them into one of his more empty pouches.

_" Ok. I guess I don't need to tell you I didn't find anything here, ne? _"

" Hn. Hinata, you're being awfully quiet. " Sasuke muttered in annoyance. He hated it when people slacked off. Hinata wasn't one to do so, but she did have her moments from time to time like she did just a few hours ago. " What's the status? "

Silence.

" Hinata? "

More silence.

Sasuke tapped his ear piece to make sure it was working. " Hinata? "

Seconds ticked away, and still no reply from the Hyuuga.

" _Hinata-chan? _"

Nothing.

Panic started to fill both Naruto and Sasuke's chest. Hinata wasn't one to space out during a mission, no matter how little of importance it was.

" **Shit**! "

* * *

" _Right. Naruto, stay down here and continue searching. "_

Seeing Sasuke appear at the top of the stairs, Hinata took the time to check back on the homeless man who was in her blind spot. Turning her head a little to the right, Hinata seen he was no longer up against the wall, but right behind her. She was staring right at red sharingan eyes. He wasn't wearing the old ratty torn looking clothes any more, but a black body suit, covered in the traditional Akatsuki cloak.

Try as she might, she couldn't get her voice to talk, to _scream_ that she needed help. How did she let this happen?! He wasn't a genjutsu! She would of seen it! Her byakugan would of picked it up. After what happened earlier that day, her guard should of been at its highest. Hinata's pale lavender eyes widened.

" _I think this is all we're going to find. _" The drunk outside was just a decoy, to make her lower her guard inside the shrine, just for a second! Her instincts kicked in as she quickly darted her eyes away from Itachi's red ones, but it was too late, she was caught in his genjutsu. Not a dangerous kind or a genjutsu that put you in a deep sleep, but a trance. One that wouldn't let her look away. Her whole body was frozen in its place.

" _I guess I don't need to tell you I didn't find anything down here, huh? _"

" _Hn. Hinata, you're being awfully quiet. -- What's the status? _"

Hinata and Itachi just continued to stare at each other. Hinata literally couldn't help but stare.

" _Hinata? _"

Itachi grazed his knuckles across Hinata's cheek in a whisper of a touch, there, but barely. His pale fingers then reached to her ear and muted her communicator so she couldn't be heard, then slid his hand into the inside of his coat pocket, bringing out a blindfold that had the words 'SEAL' written on the front of it. Still staring into her eyes, Itachi wrapped and tied the blindfold around her head. Once it was tied tightly and neatly, the Uchiha summoned the tiniest amount of chakra into his index and middle finger, and tapped the center of the seal, activating it.

" _Hinata? " _

Once the Seal turned on, the genjutsu on Hinata vanished, she started gathering chakra into her hands to push Itachi away but the chakra never made it, making her finger tips ting with numbness. Itachi grabbed her wrists in a tight, painful hold and muttered a few words she couldn't make out over her loud heart beats. He released his hold on her wrists, but it was replaced what she guessed was thick ropes. She heard about this jutsu before. Normally it would take an average shinobi at least 12 seconds to be able to summon the right amount of chakra, and make it tangible into ropes. It took him less than 3 seconds. Not only that, but he was able to do so without spiking any chakra senses. No way Sasuke could of felt that, especially since she couldn't when she was right in front of him. Seal or not, she would still be able to feel it.

" _Hinata-chan? _"

Hinata quickly laced her fingers together, and started wildly swinging her arms around, hoping to get a hit on Itachi. But to no avail, she would swing and only hit air.

Itachi quickly moved behind her before she laced her fingers together. He knew what she was going to try doing. Then with a little force, he hit the base of her skull, making her double over, and almost lose conscious. Hinata was sure her vision trippled as she held onto the will to staying awake. Thank god she was used to all the harsh training she went through with Neji and her father, or else she would of be knocked out cold the moment Itachi's blow hit her. The next thing Hinata knew, was she was being lifted up by her waist, and thrown over a lightly muscled shoulder. Hinata tried her hardest to make her limp arms and legs move, hit, kick, anything! But with her starting to lose conscious, her chakra was starting to fail her from fighting to keep awake. Suddenly, Itachi jumped on the wide sill of the broken window, and leaped down to the ground effortlessly, even with Hinata's extra weight. He then took off at running, in what she assumed was compared to lighting speed.

" **Shit!** "

Hinata heard both Sasuke and Naruto yell through her ear piece. Funny, 'cause that was the same thing going through her mind...

Sasuke jumped through the window, ignoring the small shards of glass that embedded it self into his shoulder and back. He landed on the dirt road with little noise, (Not that he cared. Him crashing through a window probably woke the neighbors up.) and took off running as fast as he could while pumping chakra into his legs. Naruto soon joined him, though he was still a bit behind Sasuke. They both leaped onto the roof tops in order to get to the shrine quicker. Sasuke's blazing red sharingan eyes widened at the sight of Itachi leaping out of the shrine with Hinata slung over his shoulder. Even though he was still too far away to be 100 percent sure that it really was Itachi, he knew, he _knew_ it was Itachi. Every fiber of his being was shouting, _screaming _that it was him.

Plus Naruto just confirmed it.

" What the hell?! Is that Itachi?! "

Sasuke pushed even more chakra into his legs, making him go faster, but also making his legs feel almost numb. Sasuke passed the shrine with Naruto catching up behind him slowly. " Itachi! " He screamed out, hoping that if his brother knew he was right behind him, he'd stop and face him. But no such luck. Itachi only increased his speed.

" Dammit! " He shouted as he pulled out a few shurikens and flung them at Itachi's right shoulder, but Itachi nearly jump on top a building, still keeping his speed going. He jumped down on the ground once there were no more buildings in his way, and stopped right where the forest starts. Sasuke and Naruto caught up, and were standing behind Itachi in no time. Naruto, out of instinct, summoned over 50 shadow clones to surround the three of them, to make sure Itachi didn't escape. Sasuke gathered a large amount of chakra into his right hand, forming a loud and crackling chidori. " Put her down, Itachi. " He said through clinched teeth. " She has nothing to do with you, so put her down, and fight me. No running this time! " Sasuke snarled loudly.

Itachi barely turned his head to look at Sasuke. " I cannot do that, little brother. " His calm voice barely reaching their ears.

Sasuke clinched his teeth harder. How is it, that Itachi was going faster than him and Naruto, and he wasn't even panting, while himself and Naruto were?

" Why not?! " Sasuke and Naruto yelled. They both could tell by her shaking form, that Hinata was trying her hardest to keep conscious, while trying to get out of his grasp. They needed to get her away from Itachi as soon as possible.

" She is of great importance to me. "

" Like hell she is! " Naruto shouted, his blue eyes were now fading into red. " You don't even know her, you bastard! What do you want with her?! "

Naruto and Sasuke questioned their ears if they heard a chuckle come from Itachi. With the wind blowing as hard as it was, they weren't sure. " On the contrary, I know more about her than you two do. And if I told you _why_ I need her, it would ruin the surprise. "

" It doesn't matter, _big brother_. Put her down and fight me! " Sasuke ran at Itachi with his chidori aimed right at Itachi's right shoulder blade.

Itachi turned back to look at the forest, then mumbled a few words, making Hinata gasp. She then sucked in as much air and strength as she could. " SASUKE! " She screamed loudly, right before her and Itachi disappeared. Her scream echoed against the trees from the forest.

Sasuke ran right through where Itachi stood, his chidori barely missing his brother. His head started whipping around, trying to see if he caught any sign of Itachi or Hinata. Nothing. " Dammit... " He muttered under his breath, still praying to see if he could find them. Suddenly he took off into the forest, jump from tree branch to tree branch. " Dammit...! " Naruto's screams of threats didn't even register in the Uchiha's mind. All he wanted to do was find Hinata and Itachi. Though he knew he wasn't going to find either one. That was a teleport jutsu, there would be no way to know where Itachi went.

Sasuke finally dropped down to the forest ground after an hour of blindly searching through the trees. He failed again. He swore that the next time he seen his brother, he would kill him. Not only did he fail, but he let his comrade, his team mate, his... Hinata get captured by him. Just like he couldn't do anything to protect Hitomi, he couldn't protect her sister. Sasuke gritted his teeth. " **ITACHI!!! **" Sasuke yelled out to the night sky.

* * *

Itachi and Hinata reappeared standing just on the outskirts of the large forest. Hinata's squirming tripled. " P-Put me down! " Her voice shook as she yelled. Itachi did just what she asked, letting her slip from his left should, and fall to the ground, rather harshly. Hinata landed with a loud thud. Her head banged against the hard ground, making her headache intensify. She was sure if she could see, her vision would be blurred, almost fading. Hinata wanted to get up. She tried. The best she could do was get on her knees, with her still wrapped together hands keeping her up. " W-what is i-it that you w-want w-with me? " She also tried to sound angry, and not scared or nervous. But its kind of hard to do that when you're whole body is in pain, you can't see anything, are completely alone, and slowly falling out of consciousness.

Itachi didn't see the need to answer her, so he kept quiet as he stared behind him, back into the forest, as if he could see past all the tree's. Sasuke would be coming soon.

Though she knew she very well couldn't see with the blindfold on, her eyes still scanned the darkness. " W-well?! " Did he leave her there? Doubtful, she knew she was getting her hopes up way too high. But one could always wish.

" It appears my little brother seems to be heading in our direction. " Itachi said after a few moments of silence. " We need to go. Now. "

" I-I'm... not going.... a-any... any where with y-you! " Hinata said as she reached up towards the blindfold to rip it off, only to have her finger tips burned from an electrical current that shot out from the center of the blindfold.

Itachi grabbed a hold of the rope that was binding her wrists together, and lifted her up to her feet. " I wasn't asking. " His voice was husky and deep against her ear. " Now since you won't behave I'll have to do this the easy way. " Itachi grabbed her waist and flung her into the nearest tree. Hinata's back hit the tree hard, making her cough out blood. As soon as she hit the ground, she was unconscious. Itachi stared at Hinata's unmoving body for a few seconds before walking up to her, and picking her up and placing her behind his back.

* * *

_A almost silent 'thump' fell on deaf ears, as a ninja clad in all black entered the dark room through a low window. All ten finger tips were pressed gingerly against the wooden floor to keep her balanced, while one knee also rest on the floor. Pale lavender eyes quickly scanned the familiar room, for the object that she was looking for. Her eyes fell upon the small twin-sized mat in the corner of the room. On top of the mat, to the untrained eye, appeared to be a small child sleeping under thick covers. What probably was the 'small child' was nothing more then a rolled up mat, and some toys to give the affect of a body. The female smirked under her mask. He was getting a little better. It was a pretty good appearance, since he couldn't do genjutsus. Because if he did, it'd wake up the trained ninja's, who could feel when ever chakra was being used. _

_She smirked again, as her eyes glowed with pride. He was getting smarter, too.  
_

_Now to find who she was looking for. _

_Hitomi's eyes did another scan to the room. Nothing. She knew where he was. She did not need her byakugan to tell her where he was hiding. She sensed where he was the moment she climbed through his window, but wanted to boost his ego a bit by playing along with him. Suddenly, a figure dropped down behind Hitomi from the ceiling, then jumped on her back while wrapping his thin pale arms around her neck._

_" Gotcha, Tomi-chan! " He whispered in her ear in triumph. A grin plastered on his little face._

_Hitomi chuckled at his childish behavior. Oh how she missed being a kid... not that she had much of a childhood. " So it seems, Sasuke. " She patted his arms a few times. " Ready? " When she felt Sasuke nod, and his grip around her neck tighten, she stood from her crouching position. Tucking her hands on the back of Sasuke's knee's to make sure he didn't fall off her back, Hitomi turned around and silently jumped out the window. Once she was no longer on the wooden walk way that wrapped around the house and was on the dirt path, Hitomi took off in a fast sprint, while using no chakra to alert any one of their presence. _

* * *

Cold. That was all she could feel. Funny, because it was in the middle of summer time. It shouldn't be cold... In a split second, Hinata was aware of everything that happened. She didn't have to open her eyes to see that she was that she was in a cobble stone room. Most likely an old prison cell. The rough texture and dips of the stones gave her already sore body even more discomfort and pain. Hinata moved a little, and earned a light rattle of thick heavy chains. Itachi must of traded out the ropes for steel clasps, and moved her arms behind her. Finally giving in, Hinata opened her eyes, and was surprisingly greeted to dim light from an old light bulb hanging in the center of the ceiling. She closed her eyes quickly. Even though the light was very dim, it only made her eyes and headache pound more.

" Ah, so you're awake. "

Hinata moved more to see if she could locate what part of the room Itachi was at, and earned yet another painful rattle from the chains. A sudden 'click' caught Hinata's attention.

" I turned the light out for you, so you can open your eyes now. "

Just as he said, the lights were out, but blue light from the moon filtered in through a small window and coated the room. " What... " Her voice croaked out. Hinata tried her best to clear her throat. " What do you want... with me? " She was too tired to stuttered. Too tired to be scared.

" That's very simple, _Hinata-sama_. " Itachi started out as he pushed off of the wall he was leaning against and walked then crouched in front of Hinata. " I want you to be the first Hyuuga Heiress again. "

Fear and confusion shook Hinata's body. " That's impossible... I-I'm not Hitomi. " She breathed out.

" I know you aren't... yet. I know you aren't yet. But in time, you will be. "

" W-Why are you doing this? " She asked, tears finally stinging her eyes. " What did Hitomi-sama ever do to you? "

Itachi was quiet for a moment as he gently rubbed her cheek with his knuckles. " I want you to help me with something. To help you... understand... what happened, and what you should do to make up for those things. And you can only do so, as Hitomi. " Itachi didn't even blink while he said that. Didn't even show one spic of emotion.

Hinata gritted her teeth. " But I'm not her! I'm not Hitomi! " She screamed as loudly as she could. It didn't help that her voice kept cracking due to dehydration.

Itachi grabbed a hold of her upper arm, and dragged her up with him when he stood. With his free hand, he took the vile he got from Sasori earlier that day out of his pocket, and popped the cork off with his thumb. Itachi harshly pushed Hinata up against the wall making her gasp out in pain, with that opportunity, Itachi quickly placed the vile up to her dry lips, and poured the liquid in her mouth. Grabbing her chin, he tilted her head back to make the liquid go down her throat. Hinata tried to spit out the unknown liquid, but to no avail. The horrible tasting liquid slid down her throat, leaving her mouth and throat feel as if she just drank some acid.

Once Itachi let go of her chin, Hinata coughed a few times to get the remaining liquid out of her mouth. Suddenly Itachi cold hand grabbed her neck. She looked up in confusion, and was met with a new design of sharingan she never seen before. Though she did hear and read about it, but barely.

And just like that, he had her in a trance.

"Lets see how much you remember... and how much you want to believe when you wake up from Mangekyo..." Itachi said as he released his hold on the unconscious Hyuuga's neck.

Hinata fell back to the cold cobble stone ground.


	7. Hurry

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Anime/Manga Naruto. I do, however, own the idea for this FanFiction. Please do not steal.**

**Alright! So, I know it's been a while since I last updated, and I promised it wouldn't take so long. For that, I apologize... again. xD I'm sorry! Really. I had more then half of it written like 2 days after my last update, but I don't know what happened. I really have no clue when the next chapter will be out, but I'll try my hardest to get it out as soon as I can. It also doesn't help that I'm working on two different new one shots. I know, I know. I should be working on Trust or Betrayal, Lotus Patch, or Open Up. But what can I say? I get bored easily. And again, they're only one shots. **

**As a teaser (for anyone who's reading this) the first one shot I've been working on (and has the most written down so far) is a Shikamaru x Hinata. There will be lemons. Oh yes, there will be lemons. Of course, the same could be said for the other one shot! Which is a Sasuke x Hinata. xD I don't have much written on that one. Nothing interesting happening yet, in either one shot, but still! Keep an eye out for them from time to time.**

**Ok, so I know I had this posted a week ago or so, but I forgot to add something, so I took it down to fix it, then I had to deal with a funeral, so I apologize.  
**

**Review Comments-**

**KagomeMarie: Oh shit is right!**

**hyperaznmonkey12: You're welcome! And thanks so very much. I really have no idea what's going to happen next. xD I'm just going with the flow!**

**rain-dancer: Thanks, and me too!**

**firegoat: Haha, just keep reading. And yeah, my friend said the same thing when she was betaing it. xD I love Case Closed, but I promise I didn't get the idea from it, nor am I... well, just keep reading and find out. xD And as for your comment for chapter 4. I completely agree with you (even if I was the one who wrote it, haha) A situation like that happened before with a few of my friends. I mean, not the EXACT same situation. Just the kind of quick judgment like that happened.  
**

**Luriaz_Seint: Thanks for all the comments!**

**xoxo_RiCEbUNnY_xoxo: Yep! Another update! That was a hell of a cliffhanger, eh? I'm glad you loved that line. xD I was wondering when I'd finally be able to use it!**

**Well, that's all for now. Please read and review, and I'll love you forever.**

**Somnia-**

**

* * *

**

" Hitomi is very talented. " Hiashi stated as he watched his daughter do a series of difficult back flips while throwing shuriken and kunai at the randomly tossed bulls eye targets. Each weapon piercing the center of the targets dead on. " Which is exactly why she needs to skip the Academy, and jump to being a genin. "

" She is indeed very skilled for some one her age, Hiashi-sama. " The third Hokage mumbled as he watched the little 6 year old girl stand straight and bow slightly to her small audience. The tips of her long hair nearly touching the concrete roof they were standing on. Hitomi didn't even look tired. Wasn't out of breath, nor was there even a bead of sweat on her forehead. Which was remarkable, since it was a good 94 degrees out. She was skilled. A little _too _skilled, for his own tastes. Sure she might of originally been a skilled little girl, but he was sure Hiashi pushed her training to the max, which he wasn't all that happy about. Yes, Konoha needed skilled shinobi. But at what price? When was it going to end? When were they going to stop forcing the children to became the future hero's?

He sighed deeply.

Sarutobi wanted this to end. All the wars to stop. So when children grew up, they could decide for themselves if they wished to become a shinobi, or stay a civilian. It wasn't fair to take their childhood away from them without even asking them if becoming a shinobi was what they wanted.

Hiashi scoffed. That was a back handed compliment. " She's more then just 'very skilled for some one her age', Hokage-sama. Hitomi is already skilled as a Chunin, maybe even one of your Jounin. " He hid his smirk in his words. Its been decades since they found some one this strong, and it was _his_ daughter, no less. The strongest Hyuuga usually was, ironically, from the Branch House. It was about time they finally had the strongest Hyuuga in their stead.

Sarutobi raised his hand at that. " Please, Hiashi-sama. Don't get ahead of your self. Hitomi is skilled. But she is not quite ready to be a chunin. No where near it, in fact. " He knew Hiashi basically said 'regular' Konoha shinobi strength equal that of a little Hyuuga girl. Pompous bastard.

Hiashi scoffed again. " I know this, Hokage-sama. I am just simply stating that she is quite talented, and should be put on a team a.s.a.p. "

Hitomi was close to fidgeting under their gazes. Not only was she in front of her father, and the Hokage, but all of the village Elders were in front of her as well, staring, whispering among them selves as they pointed at her from time to time. Their cold old eyes were harshly judging her. But she wouldn't show her nervousness in front of them. Her father always said that that was a major weakness that almost every shinobi did when they didn't know what situation they were in, and how to handle it. She had to see this as being on a mission or something to that affect.

Sarutobi took a long drag of his pipe, then exhaled the smoke. " What kind of team are you exactly hoping to get her on, Hiashi? "

" One that won't hold her back. " Was his blunt answer. Sarutobi was hoping to get a little more information then that. No parent would want their child to be on a team that would hold them back.

The old man chuckled at this. " Not every child in the academy is as great as your daughter, Hiashi. " The Hokage slightly mocked. " The average child graduates from the academy to Genin is at 12 years of age. "

Hiashi turned silent for a moment as he made a hand gesture to Hitomi. The little girl caught the hand gesture and started preforming different jutsus and genjutsus. " I heard from a source that Uchiha-sama's boy Shisui, and Fugaku's boy Itachi are skilled enough to be close to graduating already. "

" I see, I see. " Sarutobi said as he tapped the back of his pipe on the roofs railing to empty out the ash of his tobacco. " And you're wanting Hitomi to be put on a team with them, is that it? "

He nodded. " Yes. "

Sarutobi filled his pipe with more of his favorite tobacco before lighting it. " Hiashi, you know protocol states that we must put a team together that will balance each other out. The best, the mediocre, and the 'worst'. That way each will learn from each other. Other students will miss out if we group the three best students together. It will not be fair to the others. "

Hiashi snorted and turned to the Hokage. " Please, Hokage-sama. It would be foolish if you keep those boys as students. I've seen them train before. There is nothing else they can learn from the academy. The Hyuuga and Uchiha teach their kids at 5 years of age what the academy teaches other kids at 10 years of age. So it would be pointless to hold them back in the Academy. And yes, even though they are in classes with kids around 12 years old, the older kids will not have it, since Shisui-sama and Itachi are nearly half their age. It'll start a problem between the children. The older children will want to dominate them, and treat the younger ones unfairly. "

What Hiashi said was true. But he wouldn't admit it. He wanted to see how far Hiashi would go to get his daughter in a team, and into the shinobi world. " I thought you wouldn't want your daughter to be in the same team as an Uchiha. Let alone two of them. Aren't you worried that they'll shadow her, or boss her around? Since, as you just stated, the older kids will try to dominate the younger kids. " Sarutobi glanced at Hiashi from the corner of his eyes.

It was Hiashi's turn to chuckle. " Hitomi isn't one to let others boss her around. Especially if they're around her age. "

" She does seem to have a fighter's spirit... But that might be only because they're her relatives. She hasn't been around other kids. Hitomi is used to her relatives, people who have to bow down to her, because she is the Hyuuga Heiress. " The Hokage stated and he continued to be impressed by the little 6 year old girl. He watched Itachi and Shisui train before. They were quite impressive. How ever, this little girl seemed to be greater then them. And she was almost two years younger then Shisui and Itachi. Sarutobi sighed again. He wished the children of Konoha could have an actual childhood, and not train everyday, instead play and laugh. " I'll make my decision soon. I request a private audience with Hitomi first. Then I shall decide. "

Hiashi opened his mouth to speak but the Hokage was already kneeling in front of Hitomi. ' _Damn that old man moves fast for his age_. ' Hiashi thought.

" Hello, Hitomi-chan. May I please have a word with you? " He asked her with a small smile.

Hitomi's pale lavender eyes darted from his face to her father's. She agreed with a small nod once she seen her father nod that she could.

Sarutobi gently grabbed her hand and started leading her towards the stairs that lead down the building. Once they were out on the streets, they continued walking towards the public training grounds. Hitomi stared and watched her surroundings. She's rarely been out here. Her father always made her train in the Hyuuga training grounds and dojo. But she has been out before. Mainly because her father wanted her to learn the streets of the village in case anything were to ever happened. She's also been out a few times with her mother to go shopping, or to just walk around. But it was rare. Maybe once every 6 or 7 months. It was just nice to actually see everything again.

" You haven't really been around Konoha, have you? " Sarutobi asked when he seen Hitomi was staring and taking in her surroundings.

Hitomi looked up at the Hokage. He was looking down at her with another small smile on his face. " A few times. "

" Ah. Konoha is a beautiful place. We have the most beautifulest garden on the- "

" North north-west side of the village. I know. The garden is very beautiful, Hokage-sama. " She blinked up at him.

" Oh? " He asked with curiosity.

She nodded. " I know where everything leads, and where what is. Hiashi-sama made me learn where every street and building in Konoha is. "

" Really now? " His eyes widened slightly. He was sure she was telling the truth about only being out in the village a few times. It got to the point where people sometimes forgot the Hyuuga had a six year old Heiress. " You know every street? " He paused to see her nod. " And building? " Another pause, another nod. " Did you study Konoha's map? "

" No, sir. I have great memory. Hiashi-sama took me every where one day. Then... a few months later at night he blindfolded me, told me not to use the byakugan, and gave me orders on what streets to go to. As a test to see if I remembered. "

The Third Hokage paused his steps and stared at the young girl in front of him. Hitomi didn't talk like a normal 6 year old. She had the vocabulary of at least a 10 or 11 year old, if that. Her speech was near perfect, and she didn't even stumble over her words.

" Hokage-sama? Is something wrong? "

Sarutobi lightly shook his head as he stared into her big pale eyes. " No, nothing is wrong. Lets continue, shall we? "

After a few more minutes the pair entered the forest training ground. Finally, the Hokage found what he was looking for. A still insecure part in the girl. When the sun began to be hidden by the tree tops, Hitomi stepped a little closer to him. She was still a little girl, after all. No matter how much training they have, they're still kids. " Tell me, Hitomi-chan. What do you want to be when you grow up? "

" What? " Hitomi asked a little startled. Not of the question, but being so deep in the forest without her father being there with her.

" What do you want to be when you grow up? " He asked again, and kept walking further into the forest, but slowed his pace down a bit.

Hitomi stared up at the Hokage. Was this some sort of test? Her father never told her anything about this... " A shinobi. " It almost sounded like a question.

" Why? " The Hokage finally stopped and turned towards Hitomi. " Is it because your father wants you to? Or because you have to to be a strong heiress to your clan? "

The little girl stayed quiet for a moment to gather her thoughts. " Father... That is what Hiashi-sama wants of me. " She said a little guilty, as if she was telling on him. " But its not why I want it. "

" Why do you want to be a shinobi, then? "

" Momma said... her and Hiashi-sama are trying to have another baby. She said that will mean I'm going to be a big sister, and big sisters take care of their little brothers and sisters, so... I want to be able to protect them when ever I can. Momma said... she'd rather me just train on being a good heiress... that I don't need to be a strong and power shinobi to be a good heiress to be able to protect them. But its what I want... to be able to protect the ones I love. "

Sarutobi crouched in front of Hitomi and placed his hand on top her head. " That's a big responsibility for some one of your age. You know you don't have to push your self so hard. I, along with the village, will always be there to protect you, your mother, and your future brothers and sisters, along with the rest of your family. If you do not wish to have a life in the shinobi world, I'll do my best to keep you out of it, and just be a powerful Heiress. "

Hitomi blushed faintly. " I-I know, Hokage-sama. But its... its my ninja way. And... I want to be able to protect other people, not just my family. "

" I see. " The Third Hokage said. A few seconds passed as Sarutobi thought. He then finally smiled brightly at her. " You'll make a good shinobi, Hitomi-chan. " He patted her head a few times before standing up. " Do you want to meet your new team? "

Pale lavender eyes widened in excitement. " I-I'm part of a team? "

He smiled again. " If that is what you want. If it is too soon, then it can be postponed. "

Hitomi hastily shook her head. " No, its not that. I just didn't expect to be in a team just yet... " Her words drifted off as her eyes roamed the forest, her ears picking up the faintest thunks of sheriken and kunai being throw against trees. " Does that mean I'm a genin? "

He nodded before speaking. " Then shall we? " He took her hand once again, and they continued to move forward.

" Itachi, you're getting better! " Shisui grinned at his best friend.

Itachi grunted as he pulled more kunai out of his leg pouch. " Better then you, anyways. " With lightning speed he threw the kunai at a target Shisui just recently threw his own kunai, making Shisui's kunai fall out, and drop to the ground.

" Oh its like that, huh? " His grin got wider while pulling out a kunai out of his own leg pouch.

" Its like that. " Itachi's features held a small smirk.

" I wouldn't get so cocky if I were you, Itachi- "

" Boys, " The Hokage's voice interrupted Shisui, gaining their attention right away. " You two have a guest. "

" Hokage-sama. " Both boys bowed then looked up at the Hokage, catching the small fingers wrapped around his much larger ones. " Who's that? " Shisui asked with his finger pointed to the little hand, his mother's voice ringing in the back of his mind about pointing at people.

Sarutobi looked down at the top of Hitomi's head. She was currently hiding behind his long Hokage robe. " This is Hyuuga Hitomi. The Hyuuga Heiress. " He said as he started to lead her in front of him. " Hitomi, this is Shisui and Itachi Uchiha. Shisui is the Uchiha Heir. Say 'Hi'. " He nudged her closer to them.

Hitomi stared at the two boys who were staring at her as well. They looked almost identical. Both had black hair and black eyes. Just some facial features were different, and the paleness of their skin. She had no idea who was who. " Hi. " She mumbled along with a wave of her hand after a few silent moments.

The boys greeted her basically the same.

" Hokage-sama, " Itachi spoke first. " Why did we need to meet her? " He asked, getting right to the point.

" She will be your new team mate when you two graduate from the academy to Genin in a few weeks. "

Shisui blinked. " But she wasn't in the academy. Why does she get the genin status already? " There was a hint of whine in his voice.

The Hokage patted Hitomi's head again. " It is true she was never in the academy. But her father had brought her to me, and she did a series of tests. And just like you two, she is getting the genin rank at a young age. "

Shisui blew a raspberry while crossing his arms behind his head. " She looks weak to me. I doubt she can keep up with me, maybe with Itachi. But eh. Even if she is the Hyuuga Heiress. Don't give her the title right away just because of her status, Hokage-sama. "

Itachi's left eye twitched at the 'Maybe with Itachi' comment. That loser was always saying he was better then him. He opened his mouth to speak, but some one beat him to it.

" Listen here, kid! " Hitomi stomped her foot in a childish manner. " _You_ look weak to me! Even if you are the Uchiha Heir. Hokage-sama shouldn't give _you_ the title of Genin just because of your status! " She yelled out, trying her hardest to not stomp her foot again.

" She has a point there, Shisui. " Itachi grinned at his friend.

Shisui's face turned red out of embarrassment. " Shut up, Itachi! " He hissed in a whisper, yet everyone there heard. " I am not weak, little girl! And don't call me kid! You're probably younger then me! Not only that, but I actually went to school to be called a genin! You're the slacker who didn't go! "

" No, I'm just that great! You had to go to school to learn what you know. That's why I'm already a genin while you have to wait a few more weeks! "

Shisui gaped in horror. " Hokage-sama! Why did you pass her but me and Itachi have to wait? "

" Shisui, don't whine. " Itachi said as he elbowed Shisuis' side. " She's just trying to make you mad, and its working. "

" Now, now, Shisui. Don't get so riled up. You should be thankful to have Hitomi-chan on your team. She's very skilled. " He patted her head again.

" Sure doesn't look it. " He mumbled under his breath not so quietly.

" I heard that! " Hitomi started walking towards him with her little fists balled at her side, but was immediately halted due to the Hokage pulling on the back of her collar.

The Hokage sighed. " You two are going to have to learn to get together better, or I won't pass any of you as Genin. "

" What? " All three kids yelled out in protest.

Itachi furrowed his brows. " Don't fail me because those two don't know how to act their age. " Sarutobi almost laughed. 'Act their age'. In all honesty, they were acting their age.

It was Shisui's turn to stomp his foot. " Don't fail me just because she isn't that great! "

Hitomi opened her mouth to yell, but Sarutobi patted her head again. " Shisui, don't be so quick to judge. She is a very skilled little girl. Hitomi-chan is up to par with you and Itachi, if not then maybe even a little better. How about we have a little friendly competition. I'll say a command, and you two have to do them. " He looked over to Itachi. " You are welcome to join too, Itachi-kun. "

Itachi bowed. " That is alright, Hokage-sama. I have no qualms with Hitomi-sama being apart of our team. I learned to not judge people so hastily, unlike Shisui here does. "

" 'Unlike Shisui here does' " He mocked in a childish voice, Shisui then elbowed Itachi's arm. " Suck up. " He muttered through the corner of his mouth. " That's fine with me, " his voice louder. " just so long as she doesn't cry once I beat her. " Shisui grinned at Hitomi, who scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out at him.

Both Shisui and Hitomi walked to the center of the training ground, each a good 10 feet away from each other, and turned to face to Hokage, waiting for his signal. Itachi walked up to the Hokage and stood besides him. Sarutobi clapped his hands twice. " First order. A basic Fire Ball Jutsu. " Both kids made the same hand signs, deeply inhaled, and blew out fire from their mouth with their thumb and index fingers. " Very good. Second order. Phoenix Fire Ball Jutsu. " Again they made the hand signs, and again fire flew from their mouths, only this time it was six little fire balls. " Very good. " He repeated. " Lets move to physical abilities. Preform 5 solid back flips. "

Each did their back flips perfectly. Each of their little fingers digging into the soft dirt before they pushed off and landed on their feet perfectly. " Excellent. 5 one-handed back flips finish with a twisting 90 degree angle. " Again they preformed the task with ease. Being both right handed, they used their left hand to push them self father, and had their right arms tucked behind their backs.

" Its to easy. " Itachi finally spoke after the second flip. Sarutobi raised a brow. " Give this command... "

" Very good, you two. " The Hokage said once they finished. " Third challenge. Back hand flip, 30 degree twist, right side flip, back hand flip, 20 degree twist, back hand flip, no hand flip, 140 degree twist, one handed right side flip, side step, 5 back flips, no hand flip, left side flip, 10 degree forward flip, finish with a one handed round about flip. "

Hitomi and Shisui both blinked in confusion as they tried their hardest to remember everything he said. They each did their best to do what all he said, but in the end, Hitomi was able to do seventeen out of the twenty commands, while Shisui was only able to do fifteen. " Hitomi takes the lead. " Shisui puffed his cheeks out in aggravation. He knew Itachi was the one who put the Hokage up to giving out the command. He'll have to get him back for that some how... " Now, I want you two to activate your blood limit, and preform the jutsu I do. "

" Ha! " Shisui said loudly while activating his sharingan. " Hokage-sama, the byakugan can't copy jutsus like the sharingan can. "

" Then she'll be out ranked in that department. " The old man said before doing a few hand signs to create the Shadow Clone jutsu.

The hand signs and chakra connection was rather difficult. Since he just barely got his sharingan but a few weeks ago, it was still rather weak. His sharingan was barely, _barely_ able to keep up with his hand moves, but he was able to preform it correctly, and create a shadow clone of him self. He blinked and breathed out deeply in a pant. " There, I did it, Hokage-sama- "

" Shadow Clone Jutsu. "

Shisui heard Hitomi's voice to the side of him. He turned to look, and standing next to him was not one, not even two, but three Hitomi's standing next to him. His deep black eyes widened. How was this even possible? The Byakugan isn't able to copy jutsus like the sharingan can! And she made two of her self, not one. Hitomi didn't even look out of breath!

The Hitomi in the middle, who was in front of the other two turned and looked at Shisui. " The byakugan isn't able to copy jutsus like the sharingan, but we're very skilled to be able to see and read the hand signs of... certain jutsus. And one of the reasons why I can make one more clone then you is because you added too much chakra to make just the one. With the byakugan I was able to see how much chakra Hokage-sama was able to use. " Hitomi grinned a grin much like the one he did a few moments ago. " Plus I have more chakra and better chakra control then you. " She stuck her tongue out at him in triumph with a smirk gleaming in her eyes.

Itachi laughed. " It seems she's got two points over you, Shisui. "

Ever so slowly, Shisui puffed his cheeks out, then released the air. " Fine. You're not _that_ bad. But before you get cocky, most of my chakra is being used right now! " He puffed his cheeks out again as he released the jutsu to his shadow clone.

Hitomi also released the jutsu on her two clones with ever slightly widened eyes. " 'Being used right now'? What does that mean? " She then narrowed her eyes. Her byakugan didn't see any sign of his chakra being used besides used for the Shadow Clone.

He grinned again. " Hokage-sama helped me create a genjutsu that covers my appearance. " Shisui raised his palm to his mouth and turned it side ways, then mumbled a few words. His jet black hair suddenly began to glow white. When the glow died, his hair was now bright yellow. Hitomi gaped as she stared at him. She then looked him in the eyes which were still onyx. He blinked once, and his onxy eyes faded to gray then with another blink, they turned bright blue.

" But... I... my byakugan didn't pick it up...? " Her thin brows furrowed in confusion.

Shisui's grin became wider. " Thats because its supposed to be undetectable. "

" W-why? "

" He's the Heir to the Uchiha clan. " Itachi piped in. " The Uchiha elders don't want him to seem like a half breed. Plus its a perfect cover to fool outsiders who do not know what Shisui really looks like. "

" Oh... " It made sense. She would of never guessed he was actually the Uchiha Heir if she seen him like this first. When he didn't have have that genjutsu on, he could blend in with the 'regular' kids, and no one would be none the wiser about who he really is. " I see. "

" So, " Sarutobi said after a moment. " Are you two going to play nice? "

Shisui resisted the urge to blush and puff his cheeks out again. " Yes. " He mumbled. Hitomi did the same.

" Good, " He nodded once. " from this day forward, your team name will be 'Team Zero'. "

* * *

Papers, scrolls, folders, pens, inks, and his name. Every day. Fifteen hours of the day was spent looking at all of those. And boy was he getting sick of seeing them. Especially having to write his name, repeatedly. ' _Really... _' He thought to himself as he pulled his glasses off the bridge of his nose, then pulled a soft cloth out of one of his pockets to clean the lenses. '_ I need to make a stamp that is my signature. That way I can just stamp it on an ink pad and just stamp the papers_... ' Thankfully, there hasn't been much commotion. So all the papers and scrolls were mainly nothing but status reports, mission reports, and updates on his shinobi. All they basically required was him to skim over them to make sure everything was on the up and up. If they were really important, the words would be hastily written, or have the word 'Urgent' stamped on one of the corners in red. He should be thankful that he only found twenty of those Urgent words so far. And he was only one fourth done with the day. ' _Huzzah_. He sarcastically cheered in his mind. Upon realizing what he just thought, he sighed while putting his glasses down and tiredly rubbed his face.

He was being around those kids too much.

" Are you ok, Hokage-sama? " Hitomi looked up from her paper work when she heard the deep sigh come from her leader.

Sarutobi cleared his throat. " Yes, " Then again it was his own fault for spending so much time with them. He had to make sure they weren't getting into trouble, or fighting with each true. True Hitomi and Shisui no longer argued about who was better then the other, (Itachi would always say that he was arguing with a girl, so he'd have to stop. Because no matter what, even if Shisui would win, it'd still be a bad thing because he won to a girl). Well... that was a lie. They did argued. But it wasn't as bad, nor constant. Plus, he also used them to help him with the reports, as his own special 'Mission'. Since Hitomi was Heiress to the Hyuuga Clan, and Shisui was Heir to the Uchiha clan, and Itachi was basically his right hand guy, they would need to get used to looking over documents and the like. He told them this was 'Training for when you two (three) take over the clans'. " Just a bit tired is all. " And he trust them enough to let them duplicate his signature so they can write down his signature on all the reports. They were like his new little group of students... A sort of 'replacement' for the 'Legendary Sanin'. No, he'd never compare them to the Sanin, his old students. Nor would he ever actually call them a replacement, though that's what most of his peers suggest they are to him.

" So then, " Shisui started out as he dropped his pencil on a D-Rank Mission report. He hated how they had to read each word, when the report was something like 'Mission complete, we found the cat.' Only in more words. Some how they managed to make that simple six letter sentence, into a three to four page report. It would be so much easier if they just cut down on it. And it'd save the village money, too. " how about we take the rest of the day off, and finish tomorrow? " His blue eyes shined brightly with hope.

" Don't be so foolish, Shisui. " Itachi finished writing down the Hokages signature perfectly at the bottom of a C-Rank mission report. " If we 'take the rest of the day off, and finish tomorrow', all this work, plus tomorrows work will be here, so we'll be here even longer tomorrow. Which will make you say the exact same thing tomorrow. Work will never get done if you keep 'taking the day off, and finishing tomorrow', because tomorrow will never come. " Honestly, did Shisui even stop and think about what he was saying more then half the time? His pale hands already filing through a stack of more mission reports.

Hitomi resisted the urge to laugh. " He's right, Shisui. Just suck it up. We only have another three hours left, then we can train. "

" Huzzah. " Shisui grumbled.

The rest of the time was quiet. Only constant flipping of pages, and the tip of the pens being traced on papers. Oh, and the 'occasional' over dramatic yawn from Shisui. " Finally! " Shisui yelled as he stood from his seat and stretched. " I thought my hand was going to fall off from all that writing. "

" What 'writing' did you do, Shisui? " Hitomi asked as she, too, stood from her seat. " All you did most of the time was balance your pencil on your finger tip. "

Shisui's face burned pink. " Tch, no! "

" Tch, yeah! " Hitomi mocked.

Shisui's bottom lip slightly pouted. " How dare you mock my training. I'm trying to learn to balance and patience, while doing these mission reports. "

Itachi gathered up his mission report papers and tapped the bottom of them on the desk to even them out. " Please, Shisui, don't try pass that off as training. You were doing a very poor job 'balancing' the pencil, and you weren't even doing any reports. You only would when Hokage-sama would look up from his desk. "

The blond groaned loudly. " Always the teachers pet, huh, Itachi? "

Once all his reports were in order alphabetically, Itachi stood up. " I'm never the 'teacher's pet', Shisui. It might seem like I exposed what you really were doing to gain favor, however, I only do that to teach you a lesson. So that maybe some day you can actually do work, and not put everything on Hitomi and I. We always have to pick up your slack, because you don't do your work. "

Hitomi punched Shisui's arm. " He's right! We always get stuck doing all the paper work, while you just sit around and do nothing! " She punched his arm harder this time. " Its not fair! "

" Owwww! That one really hurt! "

Sarutobi sighed. " Now, now, children. " He said while looking through one of his desk drawers. This always happened. It was nothing new. " Listen, " He said, gaining the attention of the bickering teens. " Before you three leave, I have some clan issues I have to take up with Hitomi and Itachi. " His tone of voice was low. Never a good sign.

Team Zero's eyes slightly widened. Usually it was Hitomi and Shisui, since they are heirs to their clans. " What is it? " Hitomi was the first to ask.

Silence fell in the room aside from the noises that came from the Hokage still going through his desk drawers. " Shisui can stay for this, since, it is kind of important to him. Or should I say, when he takes over the clan. "

Each teen glanced at each other. None of them knowing what the Hokage was going to say, and the suspense was killing them.

Finally, the Hokage found what he was looking for, and sat up straight in his chair. With two scrolls in hand, he eyed Itachi and Hitomi carefully. " Your clan leader, Hyuuga Hiashi, and the temporary Uchiha clan leader, Uchiha Nazo, and the Uchiha Elders, has come to a clan alliance agreement. " They blinked. Well that wasn't new. They knew that was going to happen, it was just a matter of time. Most likely when Shisui and Hitomi took over as leader. " They have come to the agreement of an... alliance through marriage. " The teens instantly knew. Their eyes grew wider.

" But... " Shisui's eyes darted between Hitomi and Itachi. " Why them? I mean... why not wait till Hitomi gets a little sister? Or brother? Why Itachi? " Shisui asked, not catching a flicker of tension in Hitomi's eyes.

Sarutobi cleared his throat. " Because the Uchiha's know how strong Hitomi is, and the Hyuuga's know how strong Itachi is. "

" Then why not me? I'm stronger then Itachi is. " He rushed out. Then what just happened clicked in his head. " N-Not that I want to be with her or anything! I'm just simply curious, as future Uchiha leader. " Shisui said as he crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his nose towards the ceiling.

" Anyways... " The Hokage said, in an attempt to rid Shisui of his embarrassment. " Shisui, you are Heir to the Uchiha clan, and Hitomi is Heiress to the Hyuuga clan. Those two clans are both strong, powerful, and have a lot of reign over Konoha. If the heir's to such clans wed, they will form a sort of... ultra clan, by combining both Uchiha and Hyuuga clans together. That one large clan will have a very, very large amount of Konoha under their thumb. Almost 93 percent of Konoha. Where as right now, the Hyuuga owns 34 percent, and the Uchiha own 35 percent. Since they will be combining, they will gain an additional 24 percent, to spread out along Konoha to make room for 'hybrids'. They will no longer be able to fit in the Hyuuga and Uchiha lands. And such a thing is not possible. War will erupt between all the 'smaller' clans, and the Uchiha/Hyuuga clan. Not only that, but other clans from other countries will feel threatened by such a large clan, and want to destroy it. However, an alliance is alright, considering anything can go wrong in said alliance. Its just a peace treaty, so there won't be any bad feelings. "

" Right... " Of course. He knew that. It was one of the things his father made him learn from all those old scrolls before he died. " So... does that mean the Uchiha's are giving up Itachi to give to the Hyuuga's? What do the Uchiha's get out of this? "

" Itachi is sort of a bargaining chip. Each clan will give over information on certain jutsus, and to make sure nothing goes wrong, the Hyuuga's will have Itachi, and Itachi will be the Uchiha's eyes and ears, to make sure the Hyuuga's aren't planning something. "

" But Itachi would be a Hyuuga, and be bound in the clan. He'd have to serve the Hyuuga now, right? " Hitomis' brows furrowed together.

Sarutobi nodded. " Though that is usually the case, that isn't happening now. Yes, Itachi will be married to you, Hitomi, and be apart of the Hyuuga clan, but he'll still have the Uchiha name. All will be explained later on by your Leaders and Elders. They just wanted me to go ahead and explain what little I know, and give you two these scrolls. " With that, he handed each a scroll with thier clan symbols in wax, holding the seal in place. " I do know that the marriage won't happen for at least 6 years, when Hitomi will turn 18. "

Silence fell on the small group. Itachi reached for the scroll shortly after Sarutobi was finished talking, while Hitomi hesitated a few seconds to grab her own scroll. This was normal between clans like theirs. Like they all knew, it was only a matter of time before something like this would happen. The shinobi world was... others usually did the thinking for you. You did what you were told, and did your best at it, without giving lip. Even if you wanted something you could never have... " Thank you, Hokage-sama. " They both said with a small bow.

" Your clans also requested an audience with you after you were done helping me, to further explain the conditions of the marriage contract. Tomorrow will be a grand summons between the clans in the Hokage Tower board room. So training will be cancelled for today and tomorrow. "

" Sir. " Hitomi and Itachi said as they started walking towards the door. Shisui stayed in his spot, not moving.

" Shisui...? " Hitomi called out when she noticed he wasn't following them.

Shisui clinched his fist tightly, turning his knuckles white. " Yeah, yeah... I'm coming. " He said before turning towards them and pushing his way past Hitomi and Itachi. Before leaving the room, he activated his special genjutsu to cover his appearance.

The walk down the long winding stair case was silent. Only the sounds of their steps and the buzz of chit-chat from the offices that surrounded them echoed through out the hall. Once they were outside, Shisui turned towards Hitomi. " You going straight to the compound now? "

Hitomi shifted her weight from one foot to the next. " I have to make a... quick pit stop somewhere... then I'll go straight home. " The Heiress made the motion towards her destination but stopped. " If... this doesn't take too long, can I come over to your place for a bit? To train? I also want to see your little cutie brother, Itachi. " She turned towards him.

Shisui snorted, while Itachi faintly smiled. " Sure. Sasuke has been bugging me about not seeing you lately. I'm sure he'll enjoy the company. "

Hitomi nodded. " Thanks. I'll see you both later. " With that, she took off in a sprint towards the opposite direction of where the Hyuuga compound is located.

" Where do you think she's been going? " Shisui asked as he followed her back with his eyes. " Every time after training, that's what she says. Tch, probably seeing a secret boyfriend or something. " His tone of voice held a bit of bitterness hidden within.

Itachi lightly shook his head. " I'm sure that is not the case, Shisui. "

" Yeah, yeah... " Though he no longer could see her, his eyes stayed fixed on the last place he seen her.

" If you want, I can try to decline this contract. "

Shisui's eyes darted towards Itachi. " What? "

" The wedding contract. I can try to decline it. I'm sure there is a loophole somewhere. If not, I can make one. "

Once again, silence fell upon the two. The village noise falling on deaf ears for the both of them as their eyes stayed locked. A silent conversation taking place. After what seemed like an eternity, Shisui finally broke eye contact, letting his charcoal eyes roam to the ground. With a sigh he started talking. " No... If you break away from the contract right now, the contract will still be there, and they'll hook her up with someone else. Probably one of the distant cousins, since they're around our age. "

" Are you sure? "

Shisui took a moment to answer. " Yeah... "

The two finally started walking towards the Uchiha compound in silence. Half way there, Shisui finally broke it. " Oh and uh... sorry about that whole 'I'm stronger than Itachi' comment back at the Hokage's. "

Itachi chuckled. " No offence was taken, Shisui. Besides, we both know I can kick your ass any time. "

He smirked. " Tch. Bring it. "

* * *

" So you understand the terms and regulations? " Elder Hyuuga Honasho asked the twelve year old girl in front of him.

Hitomi nodded. " Yes. I am to have two children with Uchiha Itachi, to test out the Hybrid Hyuuga/Uchiha mix, and if either child comes out with nothing but Hyuuga blood or Uchiha blood, I am to have children with a main house Hyuuga, to keep the blood line going, while still being wed to Uchiha Itachi, to keep the contract going. If the hybrid is successful, then we'll wed off one of our own to the Uchiha clan "

" And do you agree with these terms and regulations? " Another question.

The Heiress almost shifted in her seat. " I do not agree. " She blinked with her reply.

The female Hyuuga Elder's gasped, while the male Hyuuga Elder's 'Tch'd' at her reply. " You do not agree? " Another Elder Hyuuga asked.

" That is what I said. I believe I did not stutter, Elder Hanako. " Hitomi blinked again while staring at said female elder through the left corner of her eye.

The Hyuuga Elder's were in an up roar. No Hyuuga Heir ever, _ever_ disagreed with what the Hyuuga said. " What is the meaning of this? " Hanako barked out. Hiashi stayed quiet during most of the conversation, waiting, listening to Hitomi's replies.

" I do not agree with the terms, simply because you wish for me to out cast my children if they are not up to your standards or hopes. If they do not bare both Hyuuga and Uchiha blood line and abilities, they will not be good enough for you, and will be dubbed Branch house members, regardless of being first Heir to the clan, or even if they are the strongest Hyuuga to have ever lived. I simply cannot stand by and let that happen. I will not stand by and out cast my children, simply because they are not up to your desires. I will not forget about them if the hybrid doesn't work, and I have children with another. Second of all, if the children do not come out as a Hybrid, you want me to sully my marital bed and have relations with a main house Hyuuga to keep the blood line going, therefore basically betraying my marriage vows. "

Honasho cut in. " But that is not in the contract that we have- "

" I wasn't finish speaking. " Hitomi said in an icy voice. " Do not interrupt me again, Elder Honasho. " Her pale lavender eyes narrowed, making the Elder's back down a bit. If she couldn't have exactly what she wanted, then she'd make due with the best she can, on her own terms.

Hiashi's lip's twitched in a smirk. ' _Spoken like a true Hyuuga, my daughter... Spoken like a true Hyuuga_. '

" I do not care what the contract holds. To me, a marriage is a marriage. Regardless of what's written in a contract or not. I will never betray my husband, even if it is solely for an alliance, and it is for the Hyuuga clan. I do not care if he even agrees to me sleeping with another. Either have me with a Hyuuga or not. But I will not, I repeat, will not become a slave like that. Though I will let you pick out my own spouse, I am my own person, and will not become an obedient little puppy, and bend to your every command. " Hitomi held her head up high in pride. " These are my terms and regulations as Heiress. If you do not like them, then I suggest you slap the Branch seal onto my forehead, and find another Heir, because I will not do such a thing. If you wanted to test out a hybrid among a Hyuuga and an Uchiha, then you shouldn't of put up the heiress as a test subject. That is your mistake, not mine. "

Silence erupted during Hitomi's words. No one thought to speak as she eyed each and every single one of them, daring them to question what she said. Finally Hiashi spoke. " I believe her terms are agreeable, don't you all agree? " It was his turn to eye the Elder's, his sharp hard eyes daring them to speak against him. The next thing that was heard was the Elder's agreeing with Hitomi's and Hiashi's terms. " Good. If the two children do not have a mix blood line then we'll simply either give up on that, or try with another Hyuuga and Uchiha. Now that that's settled, you may all leave. The next meeting between us and the Uchiha's will take place at the Hokage's conference room tomorrow at noon. That will be all. "

The elder's got up from their mats and bowed first towards Hiashi then to Hiotmi before they left. Once the room was cleared of all the Elder's, Hitomi and Hiashi stayed seated in front of each other, both frozen in place, only blinking every now and then. This was a challenge Hiashi put upon Hitomi every time after a meeting. If she faltered any, then her heart was not fully in what she agreed to, or said. And if she faltered, he'd completely disregard all that she said. Finally Hiashi smirked. " You handled that well, Hitomi, just like I expected. "

Hitomi swallowed the lump in her throat. " So you do not mind my terms, Hiashi-sama? "

There was a small pang of regret in his chest. She always called him that, never father. Hitomi used to, when she was younger, around 4 or 5. But the Elder's put a stop to that, saying it was disrespectful since he was leader to their clan, and it was a childish thing that a heiress shouldn't do. And being the people pleaser she is, she stopped right away. It was times like that, that he wished his brother Hizashi was born before him. So he can be a father to his children, and not a leader to his clan. Being a father was something he always wanted to be. To be able to spoil a little daughter, or teach his son how to play games, even if he wasn't very good at them him self " I do not mind them, my child. If I was put in your position, I would of said the exact same thing. "

Hitomi nodded. " But the Elder's didn't seem too pleased with my answer. "

" Do not pay any attention to them. Though you did not fully agree with their terms, they are proud that you stood up for your self, and made your own terms for the contract. And that is what they are looking for within a strong Heiress. You did very well. "

" Thank you, " She bowed, her forehead touching the floor. " Hiashi-sama. Also, I apologize if I made the clan wait on me before the meeting. I- " Hitomi cut her words off as she stared at the edge of her mat.

" You went to the hospital, correct? " Hiashi seen his daughter's head move down a little in a nod. He was silent a few moments before speaking. " How's your mother doing? "

The Heiress swallowed the lump in her throat once again. " Mother is doing fine... Tsunade-san said she should be able to come back home in a few weeks if the tests keep coming back as good as they have been. "

" Ah... " Silence fell upon them once again. " I, uh- " Hiashi cleared his throat. " I'm going to go visit her later tonight, after dinner, if you wish to accompany me. " It was his lame excuse to try to spend more time with his daughter. She was growing up too fast for him. Which was to be expected. She was Heiress after all, so she couldn't act like a child. She had a lot of duties to take care of. The only times he got to see her was during clan meetings, or when he'd train her, but those, of course, were strictly because she was Heiress. Ever since she became a chunin at the age of 9, Hitomi has been even more busy.

Her pale lavender eyes widened. " Y-Yes. I-I mean, I'd love to accompany you, Hiashi-sama. " Hitomi bowed once again.

Hiashi nodded with a small smile. " Very good. Dinner will be at 7 pm. "

" Of course. I do have a request though, Hiashi-sama. "

" Ah? "

" May I go over to Shisui's and Itachi's to train for a bit? I'll be back before dinner. "

Hiashi nodded again. " Of course, Hitomi. "

Hitomi bowed one last time. " Thank you. I'll see you at dinner. Bye, Hiashi-sama. " She got up from her mat and exited the Hyuuga conference room.

" Bye, Hitomi-chan. " The Hyuuga Leader mumbled at the closed door.

* * *

" And hurry it up! " Sasuke yelled, as he damn near threw the summoned hawk towards Konoha with information about what happened with Hinata and Itachi, quickly scribbled on a scroll. He didn't have time to sit and write out in a hidden code what happened. All he wrote was 'Itachi took Hinata east outside of Limestone Village with a teleport jutsu. Coming back to regroup.' Kind of hard to write anything else, considering they were going full speed towards Konoha. It was a tough decision to make... They wanted to go after them. They would of. But for one, they weren't tracking ninja's. Sasuke's sharingan could only do so much, and two, if they went after them without Tsunade's ok to go after them, Tsunade would probably send people after _them,_ or better yet, _him_. And he wouldn't be able to help find Hinata. So they both made the decision to go back to Konoha, rally up some trackers, and get back there asap. The mission said that it would take at least 3 days to get from Konoha to LimeStone Village, but that was just to throw every one off that this wasn't a information mission. The average ninja could get from Limestone village to Konoha in 5 to 6 hours. But Sasuke and Naruto are no where near average.

' _3 hours, tops. _' Sasuke thought.

There was always the choice of staying there until back up arrived, but Sasuke knew he couldn't trust him self to stay there. He'd end up taking off after them. Sasuke silently cursed to him self. If only the sharingan was able to absolutely mimic a teleport jutsu. It could, but it couldn't go where the other person went. With teleport jutsus', it was on the casters thoughts, not actions. True some times the sharingan _could_ read minds, but Itachi had the sharingan too. It was kind of mandatory to be able to block mind readers.

" Are you sure you don't want me to stay there and search? I'm sure an army of clones can sweep the area really good. "

Sasuke gritted his teeth. " Naruto, that's Itachi we're talking about. Any other time that probably would of worked. But Itachi has near unlimited chakra out put. Did you feel how much chakra he put into his teleporting jutsu? He could be any where, in another country, on the other side of the world. "

Naruto groaned in aggravation. " I know, but it's worth a try. "

" Just leave those five clones out there to search. I don't want you running out of chakra half way to Konoha. I will leave your ass where you drop. "

Naurto grumbled. " Yeah, yeah. Lets just hurry up! I want to get Hinata-chan away from that creep as soon as possible. "

" Then shut up and move your ass! " Sasuke barked out as he pushed more chakra into his legs. The longer Itachi had Hinata, the more she was slipping away from them.

* * *

Blood shot pale lavender eyes slowly opened, only to slide back shut. Her body, too battered and bruised to move, though she was able to tell she was no longer on the cobble stone ground, at least, there was a thin mat under her now, and her arms were no longer shackled behind her. They rested lifelessly in front of her, since she was on her side.

_Numb_.

All she could fell was numb, as the recent events played before her minds eye. What did it all mean? Why was he showing her this? From what she could tell, he was showing her parts of Hitomi's past, even if she wasn't there. Itachi was showing her parts of his past, too. But why?

_Too much._

Too much to take in, her head throbbed with a burning pain that almost made her wish she for Itachi to just come in and end her life. It felt like her brain was going to explode, and she some how was going to end up throwing it all up. That's what she felt like doing. Throwing up. She should. Should try. But can't. Too tired.

_Too tired_.

Hinata slowly allowed her self to fall into unconsciousness, though that was one of the main rules they taught you in the academy. " Never allow your self to become vulnerable. If ever in a captive situation, do whatever it takes to stay awake. "

' _Way too late for that_. ' She thought right before falling into complete unconsciousness. But suddenly she was pulled up from her upper arms by a pair of cold hands, bring her sleep to a screeching stop. Her body screaming out in protest by the movement. _Now _she really wanted to die. The pain was too much, so unbearable. Hinata's mouth opened to scream, but nothing came out, besides a gargling noise. Once she gasped in some air, an unknown object was upon her lips. Luke warm liquid slowly poured into her mouth.

On instinct she thought to spit it out as best she can. But with what little taste buds she had working right now, she recognized it to be a Konoha remedy broth. Something medic ninja's made for ninja's out on missions who cannot return to a village for medical help right away. It was a broth that was made from vegetables, meat, and a special blend of herbs that way they get all the nutrients needed to keep your strength up, in case you couldn't eat. Such a broth could be bought in powdered form at almost any shop in Konoha (just add to boiling water), but this tasted different... Tasted... home made.

Though her head was pounding, it still screamed out 'Poisoned, don't drink.' But the half dead side of her mind lazily said 'How much worse can he do to me?' So Hinata drank the broth slowly. Taking larger and larger gulps every single time. Once she drank all the broth, the bowl/cup left her lips, but was replaced with another object, cool against her dry, cracked lips. A slight tip of the object, and cold water trickled into her mouth. Once again she drank it eagerly, but slowly, since her body still ached to move.

With the water gone, Itachi slowly eased her back onto the mat she was just laying on.

Being back on the mat, and laying there for a few seconds, Hinata finally realized her head wasn't pounding as much, and the pain her body felt dulled a bit, she opened her eyes for a second time, only to find her self alone in the room. There was no bowls or cups that she drank out of. Only her and her mat was in the room. She never once felt or heard him enter nor leave. After all she's been though, Hinata slightly wondered if he really gave her broth and water, or was it just a dream? But the salty after taste in her mouth told her yes, it did indeed happen.

'Why' ran through her mind more then a few times, but fatigue finally took over, and she allowed her self to fall asleep.

* * *

**Well, that's all for right now. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out soon, but I'm not making any promises. I sort of have an idea of what the next chapter is going to be, but like with this chapter, I had more then half of it written down two days after my last update, but it took me this long to finish. Hope you guys aren't mad at me.**

**-Somnia.  
**


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Naruto, Mystery, Suspense